Following the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation has accelerated, displacing the previous process of gradual yet steady implementation. Businesses have no other option but to adjust to a dramatically changing business environment when faced with unprecedented challenges. As the new year arrives, it’s clear that the global pandemic’s fear will continue into 2021. Here are some of the digital transformation patterns to watch out for in 2021.
Increased Investment
Businesses have scaled digital transformation projects as they struggle with the fallout from COVID-19. According to recent studies, movement limits, office closures, and supply disruptions are driving this pattern. Digital transformation trends have been estimated to have accelerated by 5.3 years, with analysts predicting that global digital transformation expenditures will nearly double between 2020 and 2023.
Shifting to Virtual Interaction
Many companies asked workers to operate from home in order to keep up with the lockout restrictions. The staff was employed full-time from their homes at the height of the lockdown. This digital transformation trend appears to be set to continue through 2021. Firms can expand and refine video conferencing capabilities to address problems created by a lack of personal contact. Internal communications and social media capabilities will also be prioritized.
Contactless Solutions
The report claims that there has been a shift to digital technology that eliminates the need for face-to-face communication. Customer-facing practices such as grocery and clothing shopping are particularly affected by the digital transformation movement. Demand for video conferencing facilities has grown, as has an interest in B2B eCommerce services.
Digital Communication Network Upgrades
As the demand for digital services grows, 5G wireless services will scale up to meet the demand for high-speed, high-volume data communication. The long-awaited launch of Wi-Fi 6, which will triple download speeds, is a digital transformation trend.
Enhanced Investment in Cloud Technology
Another important digital transformation trend for 2021 is the increasing interest in cloud computing. Cloud computing frees companies from outdated applications, allowing for global connectivity and enabling remote work. Organizations can adapt quickly to new opportunities and challenges thanks to the cloud’s unprecedented agility and scalability.
“Companies that excel in major transitions often start with a simple view of where they want to go, even though their vision evolves over time.”
The reality is that transforming an organization to succeed in a modern digital age is difficult. Many would perish. Yet it’s a distinct possibility. According to WWD, Walmart is the second-largest online retailer behind Amazon.
So, why do some “legacy” business leaders seem to be able to ride the digital wave with their size and brand while others seem to be crashing into the digital sand?
We’ve had the pleasure of researching hundreds of businesses that have flourished and those that have struggled with this transition from the inside for more than a decade. As a result of that practice, we’ve found a FEW main habits that businesses that excel in digital transformation have in common. Those businesses that have yet to achieve success usually fall short in many of these areas. How does your business fare?
Leadership Prioritization
Having teams to collaborate would be difficult if an organization’s leader does not believe in digital transformation. Transformation also entails taking risks, and the company needs to know that its leaders are open to trying out new ideas.
Iterative Development Process
Iterative development methods based on agile frameworks are the approach used by almost every active digital organization, according to numerous reports. Agile methods get short-term launches into production so that teams can learn from consumer input and real-world usage, then iterate the product vision based on what they’ve learned.
Flexible Platforms
You may have the best strategy and business plan in the world, but you won’t be able to succeed in a fast-changing world if you can’t develop solutions quickly and get them to market. Companies who are attempting to evolve to become more “digital,” but whose transactional and delivery/service capacities are bound to inflexible legacy structures, are innovating with a 300-pound anchor around their neck.
APIs and Ecosystem
Most digital business models are based on crowdsourcing, open innovation, and expanded partner ecosystems. Businesses that enable others to build on top of their platforms expand far more quickly than those that do not. Salesforce, Amazon and other few companies have freely accessible APIs that reveal massive amounts of data and functionality, allowing a large range of businesses and individual entrepreneurs to expand and add value to their offerings.
Customer Insight and Metrics
Sales, loyalty, self-service, referrals, and other desired customer habits are the keys to success. Teams that are effective in conceiving goods or marketing campaigns that drive desirable behaviors have insight into their consumers’ preferences, concerns, and unmet needs.
Culture of Innovation
Best way to come up with a great idea is to come up with a lot of creative thoughts. Companies that have a long history of creativity don’t do so because they have a few geniuses with all the answers. Everyone in the company has a unique viewpoint on the consumer, supply chain, and business process, as well as unique life experiences that could serve as inspiration for the next big idea. Companies that excel at digital transformation involve the entire company in the generation and evaluation of innovations, resulting in higher-quality ideas and improved organizational ownership.
Experimentation
The world is rapidly evolving. It’s possible that what worked yesterday won’t work tomorrow. Companies that succeed don’t necessarily get it right; they try a lot of different things, measure the effects, and see what works. Ideas fail more often than they succeed, but that’s perfect as long as you have a system in place to determine the winners. Many businesses that struggle with innovation and transformation, on the other hand, reward success and penalize failure. Teams who are motivated to prevent failure are often motivated to avoid experimenting. There will be no success if there is no experimentation.
Customer Data and Personalization
We live in the “big data” period. Gathering accurate data about each customer and personalizing their experience based on that data has resulted in many of the best opportunities in the digital space. Customers that do this have lower purchase costs and higher loyalty.
Invention of New Business Models around Digital
Digital isn’t all about innovative ways of doing things; it upends traditional business models and cost structures in most instances. For $20 a month, Netflix gives you access to an infinite number of movies. For one cent a minute or less, Skype allows you to speak to everyone in the world. Companies who are too focused on sticking to their established business model lose out on some of the most relevant opportunities to support their consumers in ways that thrive in the new world.
If your company meets the majority, if not all, of these criteria, I believe you’ll have a fantastic digital year in 2021. If this list reveals several holes, the good news is that you now have a list of goals to concentrate on in order to align the company for future success.
