September 6th 2018
WHAT IS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?
In simple terms, digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, essentially, changing the ways in which the business operates and functions on a day-to-day basis.
Incorporating digital transformation into a business results in the need for companies to adjust, experiment and become comfortable with new processes and strategies, leaving the old long-standing ones behind which can be a tough decision as it means embracing change.
THE BENEFITS
So why should they do that? Howard King in a contributed article to The Guardian said this; “Businesses go through transformation when they have failed to evolve.” The world today is immersed in a digital age with technology continually developing and increasingly available at our fingertips. In order to stay competitive in continuously evolving markets, it’s imperative that businesses keep up to date with technological advancement.
The World Economic Forum suggests the value of digital transformation for both society and industry could reach $100 trillion by 2025! That’s a staggering statistic.
Businesses need to be continuously embracing new marketing channels and bringing new products to the market. Of course, it is only with digital transformation that businesses will be able to reach and appeal to new sets of customers and maintain the increasing value of existing ones.
Companies that are not able to meet the modern needs and demands of digitally empowered consumers are likely to fail as a result of these things; loss of custom (because of preferred competitors) ineffective marketing and poor consumer insights.
Advantages of applied digital transformation within business include:
- Consolidated operations
- Increased agility and innovation
- Digitally evolved products and services
- Wider customer reach
- Reduced costs
CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS
By going digital, company processes and operations are consolidated bringing the entire architecture of the business together. This includes social media, analytics, and project management.
INCREASED AGILITY AND INNOVATION
With regards to business, agility is the ability to develop and improve continuously and speedily. Agility is considered such an important factor in the development of businesses that 68% of companies rank it as one of their top 3 considerations. The digital landscape is changing and advancing fast.
Every business small or large, ought to be ready to adapt. There will be constantly new competition, new trends and new tools out there and with that more demanding consumers, wanting better quality at a faster pace.
DIGITALLY EVOLVED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Technology is at the heart of digital transformation. To ensure that transformation is successful it is wise to have a variety of solutions and encourage flexibility to take advantage of emerging technology.
WIDER CUSTOMER REACH
Part of the digital transformation process involves making your business readily available to your prospective and current clients anywhere, anytime. This could be through your company website, mobile presence or applications – having these adapt to any device puts you in front of your customers at all times.
REDUCED COSTS
Optimising business technology and operations around digital technology means cost-per-transaction savings and increased sales. The use of cloud services, in particular, can significantly reduce costs as you would no longer be purchasing expensive equipment but rather purchasing cloud space to store all your company data.
HOW LILY CAN HELP
At Lily, we are industry experts in digital transformation, providing our clients with next-generation products and services and bringing to an end the use of their outdated technology – an out with the old in with the new approach.
Our award-winning portfolio of communications, I.T., visitor marketing & energy solutions has been continually developed to help our clients to increase revenue, maximise efficiency, lower outgoings and improve operations. We work closely with each client to provide knowledge and assistance when designing a solution tailored specifically for their business needs.
LASTLY…
Around 89% of medium and large businesses worldwide are currently undergoing this global movement with 34% of those already returning benefits. As more and more companies undergo transformation, the door is open to untold possibilities.
Digital technology has the power to revolutionize industries so its inception is to be encouraged if businesses want to survive in these increasingly competitive and digitised markets.
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