The key to business success is the improvement of business processes. Without the integration of digital technologies, the development of the company would not be possible. Digitalization involves much more than digital technologies. It also involves changes in management, corporate philosophy, and all aspects of the company’s operations.
It is important to have the desire and ability to change the key components of the business. Digital technologies can be used to change the existing business model. At the same time, it is important to change the work processes of the team of employees, the relationship between the team and the customer, as well as the approach to creating a product. To achieve digitalization, top management, shareholders and employees must take the initiative. Digitalization is ineffective without the willingness of people to change, evolve, and redesign work processes.
What are the benefits of digitalization for companies? Does it really matter? Well, if you want to stay competitive, of course. The market in which you operate will force you to take advantage of digitalization in some way. Businesses that modernize their business processes with the help of blockchain developers will be able to stay ahead of the competition and force their competitors to meet consumer expectations.
As a result of digitalization, companies are able to provide better customer service to their users. And customers are becoming more involved in the creation and delivery of goods and services. In today’s society, openness and transparency are highly valued. It is important for consumers to have confidence in the quality of a product or service and to be able to influence it.
Business processes are also becoming more flexible. Hierarchical management structures are changing to become more flexible and efficient. As part of this effort, the organization is involving its employees in the formulation of important business decisions, sharing not only the responsibility but also the success of projects. With this in mind, the importance of integrating corporate cultural change into the digital transformation of the organization cannot be overstated.
OK, we have established that trying to fight against universal digitalization is pointless, and every company in the process of development will be forced by the market to make this change. Otherwise, the enterprise will become inefficient and selflessly disappear under the pressure of more sophisticated competitors. Where should digital transformation start? Is it necessary to prepare employees for change, implement artificial intelligence and big data processing? Well, let’s take it one step at a time.
How to start your digital transformation
A structured, step-by-step approach is presented to help you understand what it takes to begin a digital transformation in an environmentally responsible and productive way for an organization.
The first step.
The best first step is to prepare your employees for the changes ahead. It is imperative to pay close attention to employee training, reassessment, and retraining. As a new culture is introduced in the first stage, it is important to keep people who are willing to accept the new rules, to learn and to share the company’s interests, and not to pull the company back. Preparation for these processes should start with the employees. You can hire experts in the field to assist the company and its employees in getting started on the new path more effectively.
The second step.
Improve business process efficiency. At this point, all processes should be analyzed and inefficient ones should be eliminated. In addition, the company should invest in digital solutions that will contribute to its growth. At this stage you will purchase digital solutions and develop your own software that will meet the needs of modern consumers and simplify the work of the company’s employees. It is also necessary to automate work processes and eliminate paperwork.
The third step.
At this stage, you should gather as much information as possible about the customer experience and the financial value of certain solutions. It is important to implement metrics and data collection algorithms, and to monitor changes in corporate culture.
Once a reliable digital system has been established, it is necessary to implement new solutions over time based on the data collected. This is necessary to ensure that the ecosystem of digital solutions remains sustainable.
Well, we understand the gradual transition to digitizing business processes. What technologies can help? We discussed process automation in step one, so let’s take a look at a technology that can free up an organization’s IT department to work on other priorities.
What role does cloud technology play?
It is a good idea to start the transformation by migrating to the cloud, therefore we will discuss the role of cloud technologies in digital transformation.
Reduce costs.
The cloud eliminates the need to build and maintain your own data centers. There is no need to purchase expensive IT equipment and to spend money on full cycle product development. Technical support costs can be reduced. This is especially true for organizations that operate in highly competitive, low-margin environments with seasonal spikes in demand for their information systems. For example, it makes no sense for a florist’s Web site to purchase specialized IT equipment and hire a staff of IT specialists to handle the load on the site during the holidays. Meanwhile, the equipment sits idle, which is not profitable.
Process delegation.
It is possible to delegate responsibility for infrastructure health to the cloud services provider. If the company does not have its own staff of IT specialists, or if they are no longer able to handle the load, this service can help. By delegating, the company’s IT department can focus on solving key business problems. Supporting purchased equipment and deploying the next server cluster, which are not time-consuming activities.
Choice of deployment method.
Cloud resources can be deployed in a flexible manner based on the needs of the enterprise. For example, you can store data in the cloud. You can develop and test your app in the cloud. And you can analyze large amounts of data. How you use the resource depends entirely on your organization’s development plans and goals.
What to Look for in Cloud & Digital Transformation
When considering cloud transformation, there are several things to keep in mind.
First, you need to establish clearly defined business goals that the organization wants to achieve through cloud migration. It is also important to determine the type of cloud computing that will best meet your needs. You should have checkpoints that you can rely on during the migration process. It is possible that things will not go according to plan, but checkpoints will help prevent critical errors.
The second consideration is the readiness of the team. Assess whether the project participants are ready to migrate to the cloud. Are they familiar with the specifics of the project and its goals?
Third, it is important to involve the customer. Analyzing statistical data, testing theories, enriching analytical data, and educating about cultural changes require a high level of customer involvement. The results show that customer expectations have been met. As a result, the company’s performance and reliability can be evaluated.
