For many years, Digital Transformation has been the buzzword. However, the recent pandemic has forced companies to rethink their business models and launch digital initiatives with little time and resources.
Transformation of any kind is never easy and will not get easier especially during this pandemic. While technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Big Data, Cyber Security are at companies’ disposal, there is no standardization and best practices for a successful digital transformation.
For instance, one of our clients, a manufacturing firm has been procuring the latest tools regularly for many years thinking that by doing so they will be digitally transformed. As their organization requirement changes over time, they have come to realize that the tools procured can no longer serve their business needs. The practice of regularly purchasing the latest tool is no longer sustainable and customization often causes more delay.
This is one of the more common scenarios faced by most companies we consulted which forces their leaders to craft out a digital transformation hastily which leads to tension and trauma within the organization.
The good news is that digital transformation is manageable and business leaders need not be an IT expert to be working on digital transformation. Business leaders in a digital era will need to be inclusive and demonstrate strong business acumen skills.
The development of digital strategies to harness digital technologies to transform, and creation of a new business models that is sustainable is the key to success. One way to achieve this is to start establishing multiple data touchpoints to start analyzing all the data collected. For example, by analyzing how customers are buying, and consuming a product or service, companies can understand a customer’s journey and customize their offering and solutions.
With appropriate tools and skillset (which is not hard to develop), these data collected can be turned into insights to better understand customers. Companies can also use predictive analytics for conditional based decision making, which will reduce
downtime.
One finance company, which we consulted started using HR metrics it helps improve the speed up their decision-making process. With predictive analytics, they can uncover insights like which hiring strategies work, which recruitment campaign has
the hire probability of success and which recruitment advertisement yield better results.
Skills Gap Analysis has also helped them to identify the right type of training and programs needed to bridge any skill gap identified. Digital transformation is a journey. It is constantly evolving, and we can expect more changes to take place as we moved into the new world full of uncertainty created by the pandemic. Start investing in digital transformation today, by taking measurable
steps to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.
