Now, the digital era has arrived. There are numerous innovations promising to transform businesses and drive growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technological adoption, forcing businesses to their operations. That’s called digital transformation. Businesses that don’t transform will be left behind or will cease to exist.
To remain competitive, today’s businesses need to change and adapt their organization to become nimbler and to satisfy their employees and consumers. This means staying up-to-date on the latest digital transformation trends.
Five Digital Transformation Trends for Businesses
Analysts predict the future of business by analyzing current trends. Right now, they predict that several digital transformation trends shaping the future of business include cloud-based platforms, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI) and more. These trends can affect how businesses operate, communicate and interact with customers. Let’s look at five key trends influencing digital transformation in businesses.
1. AI and machine learning
To automate tasks and reduce workload for employees, businesses are turning to robotics and digital technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. According to the result of a survey in 2021, the majority of enterprises (76%) prioritize AI and machine learning over other IT solutions.
In the digital age, AI and machine learning become part of business strategy. Companies adopt these technologies to optimize their operational activities. Sales, marketing and customers are the top three areas that AI can benefit. In marketing, for example, AI can be leveraged to create personalized content, and especially build effective marketing strategies by collecting and analyzing customer’s data.
2. Cloud technology
Cloud technology has been increasingly growing in recent years. More companies are shifting their data centers to the cloud – which is the center of digital transformation.
Cloud technology is among top digital transformation trends. It has changed the way businesses work and enables them to access data from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Cloud technology allows employees to work more efficiently with a lot more flexibility. They can work from home without interrupting productivity. With cloud computing, large amounts of data can be stored securely, remotely and accessed easily.
3. Hybrid working model
Nowadays, many companies are shifting towards a hybrid work model – a combination of in-office and remote work. Employees can choose to work from home or in the office at their convenience. As an organization, it’s crucial to be agile and flexible to adapt to what is required today.
According to a survey, over 50% of employees prefer hybrid work. Analysts expect this trend to continue in the forthcoming years. Businesses, in return, have to look for ways to improve team communication while working remotely.
4. Privacy and transparency
One of the main challenges of the digital age is personal data leak. This could be bank card details, emails and home addresses. Therefore, businesses and consumers are increasingly concerned about data and privacy issues.
Transparency gives customers peace of mind. Also, it helps businesses attract new customers and deliver better services to existing ones. For example, Google privacy policy tells users about how they collect data from users and how they use it for personalized ads. It develops innovative services with the protection of user’s privacy to better serve them.
5. Blockchain, NFTs and the metaverse
Besides cryptocurrency, blockchain can help businesses run more efficiently. The most important benefit of this technology is enhanced security. Moreover, blockchain is a solution for businesses to transform supply chains, handle transactions and contracts.
The world witnessed the explosive growth of the NFT market last year. NFT, or non-fungible tokens, can be bought and sold like other speculative assets. It represents things like bonds, stock, real estate, digital art, games and data ownership rights.
Mindsets for Successful Digital Transformation
Digital technologies enable business transformation. Nevertheless, without the proper mindset, you can’t have a successful transition. Here are five mindsets your business may need for a successful digital transformation.
A clear vision. Clear vision is vital to digital transformation success. It describes what your businesses will be like in the next 3 or 5 years, and what direction you need to move forward.
A strong culture of innovation. Successful digital transformation requires the integration of digital technologies. Companies must constantly keep up with innovation to differentiate themselves from others and adapt to changing market conditions.
Speed. By investing in technology, you can automate your company’s process and speed up your sales cycle, thus gaining an advantage over competitors.
Excellent customer experience. Customer experience is a key competitive battleground in the digital age. Every business needs to identify its most important customer touchpoints and focus on them to improve customer satisfaction.
Connectivity. Through a digital platform, businesses can easily connect with customers, partners, processes and data in one coherent environment.
Conclusion
At EXE Corp, we work tirelessly with our clients, helping them to adapt to the changes and thrive in the digital era. We strive to be their strategic partner for the digital transformation journey. We offer digital transformation consulting services for SMEs using prototyping models. Our solution is to help many organizations build stronger, more efficient, and more agile businesses.
