What Is Digital Transformation?
The Dark Ages Of Business
That’s a dramatic title, isn’t it? But we wanted to be dramatic, in order to get your attention. Business is changing. It’s changing because society is changing. And society is changing because technology is changing.
What happens if you don’t change with technology and society? That’s when you’re in the dark ages. This looks like reactive businesses. It looks like stuck-in-the-mud managers who constantly complain about new technology. It’s the image of thousands of companies becoming obsolete on a yearly basis.
This is what happens when people don’t change- when they don’t know how to change. It’s what happens when business models never evolve. This process of (forced) change is a result of digital disruption. For those who cannot embrace all of these changes, this becomes digital destruction.
But this is not inevitable.
While many companies are still stuck in the dark age, some are embracing the 21st century and all the rapid societal shifts, burgeoning technology, and cutting-edge innovation that it entails. Those companies are embracing Digital Transformation.
Now what on earth is digital transformation? These words are on the lips of everyone on the front lines of the market, but how many of them truly understand what it means?
Digital Transformation: The Enlightenment Of Business
Put simply, it is the mindful and rapid transformation of business processes, activities, services, and products to best take advantage of new and changing digital technologies and trends. Digital transformation is the acceptance of rapid societal shifts. It is the smart use of (and experimentation with) new and evolving technology. Digital transformation becomes possible when businesses create a culture of experimentation, innovation, and change.
Digital transformation is:
- Aggressive strategizing in order to be proactive towards changes and opportunities.
- The tendency towards user-centric experiences, agility, efficiency, and innovation.
- The use of big data and analytics to streamline decision making, optimize marketing, and target services.
It is not:
- Simply turning everything into an app. Or using technology just because. And it can’t be reacting to changes years after they happen.
When embraced and accepted, digital disruption can be turned into digital innovation, digital enthusiasm, and digital success. It is, by definition, a game changer. And if you are on top of it, then you will launch yourself out far ahead of the competition.
But digital transformation isn’t just about changing a lot and it’s not just about finding success. It’s about encouraging the very fiber of your organization to think and act in a different way. It’s about accepting failure and pushing to anticipate the next change and figure out how to intelligently incorporate it into your business model.
Think about it this way: If you are preparing to climb Mt. Everest, then you will be preparing a lot- training, fixing your diet, climbing smaller mountains, all in preparation. And actually climbing Mt. Everest will be a huge success for you. But the key thing here is that you will still have all that great conditioning, training, and diet as part of your daily life. You will be able to pick any mountain and climb it. You will be able to run marathons, hike across countries, and endure amazing feats. Mt. Everest was the goal, but it created a personal lifestyle that let’s let you do so much more. And in the end, you are living your healthiest life.
That’s what digital transformation does for a company.
Conclusions
Digital Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It takes thoughtful strategy to make sure your changes will actually be for the better. You need to be prudent about your user of technology. For example, you can’t just use technology because it’s fun or you are afraid of falling behind. You have to use it because it is going to add value. And you have to incorporate it fluidly into your organization. And finally, you need to make sure that the whole organization evolves with the changes, including processes, services, and communications.
When executed correctly, you’ll find a business that is constantly evolving with the times and moving forward. Most important, you’ll find that you are shaping the world around you. And if that’s not exciting, we don’t know what is.
About Pixel506
Pixel506 is a digital marketing, user experience, and software development company that specializes in combining these three crucial components into digital solutions that improve, elevate, and grow your company. We’re all about finding the right solution that will bring your company the most value.