https://www.xperience-group.com/news-item/seven-business-problems-which-can-be-solved-with-digital-transformation/
Once a novelty, nowadays digital transformation (DT) is increasingly seen as must-have for businesses that wish to remain competitive – and that’s regardless of the industry they operate in. Some of the more progressive and risk-taking companies may be willing to jump onto the DT bandwagon purely based on novelty, but more often than not we find that organisations turn towards transformation based on one or more existing issues that need to be resolved.
Here are seven key business problems which lead companies to adapt and strengthen through digital transformation:
Whether you see this as a good or bad thing, the fact remains – we live in a world of built-in obsolescence, which means technology in every aspect of our lives sees a rapid turnaround. Just think about it – mobile phone manufacturers release a new model every year, which means it only takes a few of years before you’re no longer able to get tech support for your old phone. In fact, you often won’t be able to even find accessories for it.
The case is very much the same with your business technology. If you’re operating with legacy systems, chances are you’re running on borrowed time. Technological solutions across the board are shifting to the cloud, new business tools are built with a cloud-first approach, and, inevitably, software providers stop developing updates for legacy solutions. In this sense you only have one of two choices – adapt to digital transformation for your business or get left behind.
Along with the proliferation of new technologies comes another new normal – almost everyone these days is on mobile. While this brings a ton of new opportunities for businesses to interact with customers in innovative ways, it also has certain pitfalls for companies behind the times.
In today’s fast-paced digital environment, if your offering is not built with a mobile first approach (think slower page load times on mobile, or an online platform not accessible through mobile devices), you’ll be hard-pressed to keep your customers from turning to the mobile-optimised offering of your competitors.
One common issue organisations using legacy solutions often encounter is the rigid infrastructure which keeps the software from developing alongside their business. Regardless of your industry, you want systems which can easily adapt to changing business models, updated processes and expanding operations. Turning to digital transformation is the best way to ensure your software is well-equipped to optimise your business potential.
The efficiency of your company operations relies heavily on the ability of your systems to integrate with third-party apps and additional tools. It has now become the baseline for many e-commerce businesses, for instance, to have an online chat application hooked up to their CRM, enabling them to provide better customer support.
Digital transformation is a tried and tested route to ensuring your organisation’s software is capable of supporting system integrations, which in turn helps you keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to your customers.
The longer you wait to upgrade your business software, the more issues you’re going to encounter. The time gap between end of updates and the complete obsolescence of your systems is shorter than you think.
IT support tends to move at the same pace as technological developments, meaning you’d find it progressively more and more challenging to find someone willing and able to support your legacy systems. Not to mention the extortionate costs of such niche support.
Your best route of action if you wish to save money, avoid disruptions and optimise the efficiency of your systems is, without a doubt, modernising and strengthening your software infrastructure with the help of digital transformation.
The inconvenience and steep support costs are not the only downsides of running a business on legacy software. Outdated systems also pose a security risk – both to the continuity of your operations and to your customer data.
With lack of software updates and continuous support comes greater vulnerability to cyber-attacks, in the shape of malware, data breaches and such like. Not to mention the negative effect lacking well-rounded cyber security has on your company compliance with data protection legislation.
Embracing digital transformation, and the shift to the cloud associated with it, is your best bet if you want to make your business systems easier to monitor and avoid security issues.
This issue often stems from some of the others outlined above, but it deserves its own mention. Perhaps the last straw that can drive organisations towards digital transformation is the decision of their software vendor to discontinue work with the legacy system they are using.
Faced with the choice to change vendors or modernise their software solutions, many companies opt for digital transformation, attracted by the financial and security benefits it offers.
Adapt and Strengthen your business through our digital transformation solutions >>>