Introduction
In this hypercompetitive market, businesses need to amp up their game and move forward. Whether it is through automatic processes or adopting newer technologies, there are tons of doing so. But the base of all these modifications come from digital transformation. Going by the textbooks, it is a large-scale change within a business through which non-digitized services, products, and processes are transformed into digital entities.
In simpler words, digital transformation enables a business to perform with more agility and scalability by shifting from conventional to digital and fast-paced technologies. Movement to cloud servers, upskilling of employees, and digitization of payments are a few examples to name. Now, IT has a huge role to bring and integrate such huge-scale transformation in different business pipelines.
Areas in which Digital Transformation can be Integrated
Before understanding the role of IT in digital transformation, it is necessary to know the areas where the changes can be integrated. Introducing the modifications at the wrong place might put the entire business process at a halt. So, the following are some of the ways in which digital transformation can be introduced in a business.
- Process transformation: Every business relies on numerous processes and sub-processes. For instance, rolling out monthly salaries or data entry can be considered a process. In conventional form, most processes are lengthy, time-consuming, complicated, and manual. Integrating digital transformation in business processes means automating or improving them to meet the goals of agility, performance, revenue, and streamlining.
- Model transformation: When a business wants to digitalize, it is imperative to find the key loopholes in the business model and integrate digital transformation. For instance, converting the entire conventional business model to a cloud server (SaaS-based) can be considered a model transformation.
- Domain transformation: Another major area where businesses will get numerous growth opportunities is domain transformation. Here, a business can come out of its comfort zone and expand into other industries to grab opportunities. It removes bottlenecks and allows a company to access a better audience market. Amazon is one of the prime examples of domain transformation.
- Cultural transformation: Integrating digital technologies in the business process, industry domain, or business model is easy. But retaining the change and streamlining the actions later on is difficult. This is why businesses need to focus on upskilling employees and bringing appropriate changes in the work culture also.
Role of Technology in Digital Transformation for a Business
Bringing digital transformation without technology adoption and upgrade is next to impossible. Let’s suppose a business wants to automate the billing process. Now to do so, it is important to rely on an application, which again involves technology. So, it’s evident that IT has an uncanny contribution to the digitalization of a business.
To have an in-depth understanding, below are some of the technologies driving digital transformation at the current time.
- Cloud: One of the most preferred technologies facilitating digital transformation is the cloud. Shifting from the onsite traditional server to a remote platform and leveraging virtual resources allow businesses to become more competitive, streamlined, and agile. Furthermore, they can rent servers or the entire IT infrastructure through SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS models.
- Artificial intelligence: From integrating speech recognition software for security to an AR/VR model in online e-commerce platforms, artificial intelligence is the driving force behind several transformations. Furthermore, when combined with machine learning, AI can help in accurate prediction and forecasting for enhanced user experience and overall business progress.
- IoT: Thanks to IoT, sensors, and devices can be connected to the same network, thereby facilitating the data collection and interpretation process. In other words, IoT devices and sensors can help in eliminating data and communication siloes from within the business, helping in swiffer process execution.
- Blockchain: While this technology was initially aligned with cryptocurrencies, blockchain has several underlying benefits. For instance, it can replace the conventional transaction system by allowing businesses to store information in a ledger. This will help in eliminating monopoly and make data access easier.
Digital transformation and its relation with different domains
Digital transformation can be integrated in different domains, like:
- The healthcare industry can benefit a lot from IoT devices and sensors for data collection and analysis. Furthermore, AI models can be implemented for result predictions in complicated medical cases.
- The hospitality domain can also leverage digital transformation by integrating automation software to handle bookings, payments, and many more.
- The e-commerce industry is at its peak since digitalization can help streamline orders, product displays, and enhance the overall customer experience.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that digital transformation is an integral modification to be introduced in a business for overcoming modern-day challenges. While it might sound to be exciting, there are tons to do, especially since a successful technology adoption needs intensive planning.