If you want to stay in business, you have to learn to keep up with the changes. Adapting to changes in technology can help you stay afloat against the competition.
The theory of evolution stated at the time that life is about the survival of the fittest. But, in the world we live in today, the one who is highly responsive to change is the one who survives the competition. This fact is quite true in the case of digital transformation. So what are the key areas you need to focus on when it comes to digital transformation?
What is Digital Transformation?
Before we can move on to a discussion of the key areas of digital transformation, we will try to understand what this transformation is all about. This additional knowledge can help you understand the concept of best-in-class features.
Digital Transformation refers to the integration of digital technology into almost all areas of a brand’s business. However, by definition, Digital Transformation is the approach by which companies drive changes to their business models and ecosystems by leveraging digital skills. Digital technology will be used primarily to streamline your internal operations, improve communication within the organization, and of course, deliver products and services that your customers expect.
What are the four main areas of Digital Transformation?
Well, understanding the key areas in terms of digital transformation can be a cumbersome and difficult task in itself. There are different scenarios for the main focus areas presented by different organizations and analysts. Almost all of the key areas point to better integration of the transition structure, customers, products (or services), and operations within the organization. The difference lies in the handling of the different parameters.
Area 1 – The business process
This area will include and involve the collaboration of different aspects within your organization. You will need to improve collaboration between people, processes, and applications within your organization. You will need to make use of the processes, services, and models in order to enhance skills and opportunities within your organization. Applying digital technologies to all functional areas of your organization will improve performance.
Area 2 – The business model
The second important area is to implement digital technologies in the business model. However, instead of implementing new technology just for the sake of implementing it, it might be worth focusing on improving revenue and improving the customer experience. There are various industries and businesses that have developed consistently. You can take a look at some of the industries, like Sony, which branched out from an electronics industry to the entertainment industry.
Area 3 – Domain transformations
Domain transformation refers to business diversification. The previous example where we quoted Sony should also be applicable in this context. Another example of this type of technical transformation can be Microsoft, which has diversified into several areas, such as cloud storage. Amazon, which develops a streaming service along with a cloud computing service, can be one of the practical solutions that can be quite effective and efficient in its own right.
Area 4 – Cultural Focus
Your organization and its employees may come from different backgrounds. Getting everyone on the same page can be a very challenging experience. Transformation across cultural and organizational regions can be effective in providing a greater degree of efficiencies to your customers. This will help employees to have the right mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors to handle customer preferences.
What are the other areas of Digital Transformation?
There are different schools of thought that have been proposed to define the different areas of the concept.
Microsoft specifies the four main areas for digital transformation based on thoughts presented by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella:
- Empowering your employees – Improving the motivation and skills of employees can be an excellent option for a high-level digital transformation.
- Involve your customers – The company must be capable of efficient customer satisfaction and apply the right degree of techniques to meet changing customer expectations.
- optimized operations – Applying the right techniques in your organizational structure can help improve the efficiency of your organization and improve productivity.
- Better services and products. – Effective transformation options applied to production techniques can be effective in improving your market position and staying relevant to the market.
final thoughts
At its core, digital transformation will involve focusing on the key areas you want to work on. As you move to apply the right techniques in your organization, the areas you need to focus on should be relevant to the problem you want to solve.
Choose the right areas based on what your organization is missing or what your organization wants to improve. Once this is done, you can focus on the key areas that are relevant to that area.