Digital Transformation Strategy

Whatever a business’s vision for the future is, it has to include a digital transformation strategy to grow. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, transformative technologies were being innovated and entering the workplace, allowing companies to explore the benefits of an increasingly digital environment.  

This trend of digital progress was accelerated severely throughout the height of the pandemic. With many companies lagging as a result, it’s hardly surprising that digital transformation is quickly becoming one of the most widely discussed topics in business. 

So, with many companies keen to stay up-to-date with their tech strategies, we thought we’d shed some light in this article. Here, we’ll explore what a digital transformation strategy is while also looking into its benefits and any potential pitfalls companies might fall into.  

What is a digital transformation strategy?

Put simply, a digital transformation strategy is a plan of action describing how a business needs to reposition itself within the digital economy strategically. As consumer and employee behaviour changes, so too must the approaches of successful companies, and this is where a digital transformation strategy serves its purpose. 

With ongoing technological and digital progress, an effective digital transformation strategy must be adaptable, innovative and holistic to benefit consumers, employees, and the business as a whole. 

What are the benefits of a digital transformation strategy?

For consumers:

In an increasingly digital world, customer expectations have changed irreversibly. Consumers now expect companies to adopt the highest level of online and digital solutions to ensure they stay effective and competitive.  

Indeed, if a business can’t offer easy online engagement, consumers will likely seek out competitors who can. In fact, when polled, nearly 50% of customers said they’d switch brands after a negative digital experience, a figure which jumps to 80% after more than one such experience. This means that companies need to explore the options that a digital transformation strategy can offer in terms of building a strong customer relationship and ensuring ease of use to remain competitive.  

A prominent aspect of this is automation and AI. By automating elements of their customer service processes, businesses can respond to consumers more quickly, giving a better customer experience. Similarly, by using AI-driven data insights, businesses can unlock a better understanding of customers and their needs. This allows companies to create and implement more customer-centric strategies, which supports businesses in driving growth. 

As such, the benefits of digital transformation, when consumer-focused, are clear: by improving digital engagement with customers, companies can increase their brand loyalty and consumer trust, thus building revenue.  

For employees:

As we mentioned above, one of the most prominent examples of a digital transformation strategy is the popularity of remote working. This forms part of a wider discussion regarding the impact of digital transformation on employees; how efficiency and staff satisfaction can benefit the company as a whole. 

With the world adapting to remote work, it’s become clear that introducing an element of remote working where possible can result in a happier and more productive workforce. Digital transformation is at the heart of this, as to facilitate and accommodate new remote working demands among the candidate base, employers must continue to overhaul the digital aspects of their businesses. 

Not only does this involve implementing productivity platforms, as well as ensuring data security when moving data to the edges of company networks, but it also encompasses the human side of digital transformation. Ensuring an acceptable level of digital literacy and technical knowledge across a disparate employee base forms a vital part of any digital transformation strategy. 

By implementing these changes, businesses can enjoy both the employee benefits of digital transformation and the positive impact it can have company-wide. In addition, by creating a happy and efficient workforce, employers can both increase productivity and ease recruitment challenges by being an attractive employment prospect. 

For the business:

By combining the consumer engagement and employee efficiency benefits of a digital transformation strategy, it’s clear how it can drive up revenue as well as staff morale and productivity.   

Beyond this, investing in a digital transformation strategy can have myriad benefits for the business as a whole. SAP and Oxford Economics reported that 84% of companies surveyed said digital transformation was critical to their survival, while 80% of organisations that completed a digital transformation report increased their profits. The findings showed that, on average, leaders expect a 23% higher revenue growth than their competitors. 

This partially results from the increased agility afforded by a successful digital transformation strategy. By borrowing from the software development world, businesses can improve their agility by increasing their speed-to-market and adopting continuous improvement strategies. This, in turn, enables faster innovation and adaptability while also paving the way for improvement.  

Find out more about how we can help form your digital transformation strategy

At One Beyond, we design, develop and deliver intelligent high-tech bespoke software solutions to a variety of industries. With expertise in enterprise software, product development and services to government and public sector agencies, we’re the perfect option to help develop your digital transformation strategy. 

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