6 Over-hyped Myths of Digital Transformation

Digital transformation does not change your business fundamentals. It helps you in transforming the business operations, processes, and competencies with technology and discover new business opportunities in a strategic and prioritized manner. Most transformations are pillared on the effective use of the tried and tested technology (for example – networking and databases, ERPs, CRMs).

Companies like Airbnb and Uber revolutionized the way we book taxis and hotels, but their rise to market supremacy came from leveraging most common networking technologies already popular among the consumers: websites, mobile phones and apps for location tracking and real time transactions.

It is not about "how much money you are spending" but "is it worth it?"

Business and investment go hand in hand. Digital transformation is about strategically positioning your company in the market to profitably sustain, compete, and respond to emerging market realities. You may want to wait, observe competitors, and then take a leap, but the pace at which technology adoption and advancements are increasing, your position may get further and further behind the competition resulting in irrelevance. In addition, the learnings from the observation may not be relevant when you plan to plunge on the tech adoption journey.

“Technology adoption envelops people, processes, values, culture, and vision.”

Digital transformation is much more than technology. On one hand, it is important to augment the core capabilities to bridge physical and digital worlds through different platforms, on the other hand it is important to reimagine your business processes and encourage the right mindset to augment the current organizational practices. It guides you to embrace a clear vision, implement a behavioral change, and support each other for the best output.

Whether it is the mining industry that is utilizing IoT to track and monitor equipment, or a manufacturing unit striving to improve efficiency through an automated line, or a government website looking to connect databases and consolidate information to simplify and make the user interactions of the citizens meaningful and satisfying, every sector has a lot to gain from digital transformation.

Similarly, companies in banking, finance, health care and pharmacy, automobile, tourism, entertainment, media, and other domains can reap a lot of benefits from tech adoption.

82% of SMBs have implemented some level of digital transformation in their businesses. - Techaisle

Digital adoption is not restricted to a company’s size. As the demand from the hyper adoptive consumers continues to gain impetus, it is imperative for small and medium businesses to engage in strategic approach that will help to embrace and optimize business for the digital future. The end goal is to enhance operational efficiency, encourage customer-centric processes, break down silos and ensure all the departments can collaborate seamlessly throughout the organization.

71% of leaders say the workforce is important in supporting their digital transformation strategy. - IndustryWeek

Leaders understand the business’ goals and vision, identify the gaps, and recommend solutions to fix them efficiently. But they are certainly not the only ones as the employees play a major part too.

There are high chances that your employees do not like the new ways and technology to accomplish tasks. Too many steps to execute, or constant reliance on user manuals, there can be many reasons. Therefore, the top management must clear the objectives of technology adoption to the employees with frequent meetings, transparent communication and training sessions.

Of course, simply dismissing these myths won’t enable you to derive a winning transformation strategy. There is a lot more that goes in but ironing out what’s important and acknowledging the fact that transformation takes time in giving returns would help to lay down the cornerstone for successful transformation.

This blog first appeared on Cygnet Infotech.