Business/Industry insights
Digital transformation has been gaining traction because it adds value to interactions with customers
Over the past few years, digital transformation has evolved from a buzzword that was only used in boardrooms into something that has become critical for most companies. But what exactly is 'digital transformation' and how does it benefit an organisation?
Digital transformation refers to the process of integrating technology into all aspects of a business, thus changing customer experiences and how the business operates and meets its market requirements. This change enables businesses to experiment, challenge the status quo and defy convention. In a nutshell, digital transformation is the recreation of a business in the digital age.
You might be forgiven for thinking that this transformation begins with traditional business roles like marketing, advertising and sales, but that is not necessarily the case. Instead, digital transformation starts with how a business thinks and interacts with its customers.
Digital transformation has been gaining traction because it adds value to interactions with customers. Thanks to digital transformation, organisations are actually taking a step back and contemplating how they are running their business.
Since we are truly in the digital age, businesses are coming up with innovative and clever methods of leveraging technology - Netflix being one such company. It began as a mail order service and has continuously evolved with the times since. It is currently taking on traditional broadcasting by offering a huge variety of content with competitive pricing. Digital transformation gave Netflix the capability to provide video streaming to its customers, but it also gave a sneak-peek into the preferences and habits of viewers. Netflix utilised data and digital transformation technologies to improve its user interface, user experience and, ultimately, the creation of its in-house movies and shows. This is a great example of digital transformation: making use of existing technologies to improve the running of a business.
Digital transformation provides organisations with a variety of advantages, including:
According to a survey conducted by Altimeter, organisations that are looking to digitise themselves can make use of the following digital transformation roadmap:
However, in order to achieve these objectives, organisations might face digital transformation challenges in the form of:
...an estimated 70% of IT managers are of the opinion that big data plays a key role in revenue growth
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