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Digital Transformation remains a hot topic, although many businesses do not understand what it means for them. If you are wondering ‘What is it?’ or ‘How do I get started?’ this blog post is for you – we’ll show you the steps to digital transformation.
Digital Transformation is a relatively new concept, so naturally there there is some confusion surrounding the term. We are currently in a digital revolution, so there’s no time like the present to really get to grips with it. In a recent post we discussed the difference between those that ‘do digital’ and ‘digital businesses’ and in this post we build on that highlighting the steps to digital transformation you need to follow to to begin your transition.
Digital tools, much like a wrench, spanner or screwdriver, are designed to help overcome a challenge or fix a problem. Within your business it is likely you’ll be using a host of tools to help you operate and carry out day-to-day activities.
Do you use e-mail to communicate? Do you use Social Media to engage with your customers? Do you use mobiles devices to access information? If you’ve answered yes to any of these, then you can confidently say you are using digital tools and are therefore ‘doing digital’. Whilst the use of digital tools can help improve efficiency within your organisation, if they are used in isolation you may not be capitalising on their full potential.
If you’ve identified your business as one who ‘does digital’ then you are halfway there. To bridge the gap you need to go from using digital tools to fuelling your strategy with digital tools. To get started on your journey you need to make sure everyone in the business understands where you are headed and what is required to get there.
Before you undergo your transformation it is important to know why you are changing. By outlining your business objectives and communicating them to your people it will be clear why change is needed and will help them to get on board.
Look at how your business currently operates and the skills you have in-house. Can your current structure support your vision? It might be you need to restructure teams to enable better collaboration and agility to deliver your strategy.
Look at what digital tools are available, and choose which are best suited to help your teams achieve their objectives and align with the business strategy. It is important to not only consider which tools will do the job, but which tools will work together to produce your desired outcomes.
You have the what and why, now you need to work on the how. Remember, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ so it is likely your plans will be long term, made up of lots of changes and adjustments – more of an evolution than a revolution.
New technologies and ways of working will require a culture change, this means you you will need to re educate your people and conduct proper training to ensure the tools you have selected are utilised to produce the best outcomes.
Execute, Execute, Execute. At this stage you should have all the ingredients for a winning digital business recipe. Use your new tools and available data to refine your processes, make smarter decisions and drive your business forward.
Digital businesses have digital at the heart of everything they do. Digital businesses use data and analytics to understand what works and what doesn’t; enabling them make informed decisions and ultimately drive the business forward. It is only once technology is aligned with the business strategy, you can call yourself a ‘digital business.’
Research has shown that SME’s who use digital technology as part of their processes have a 22% higher revenue and a 10% increase in productivity. The real question is; can you afford NOT to become a digital business?
To find out more about digital tools for transformation register here for our upcoming workshops.