In a constantly changing global market, to remain competitive companies need to quickly adapt to new Technologies, IDC estimates that the expenses made regarding digital transformation Technologies and services will reach 2 trillion dollars by the year 2022. Companies that have adapted digital transformation are aiming to attract their clients to enjoyable experiences from multiple channels.

Digital transformation plays a crucial role in a few matters.

• Customer Experience: In our day, consumers have more options than ever. This forces companies to not only provide innovative products and services but also create experiences and interactions with their clients to increase their satisfaction and establish brand loyalty. Just imagine how many food delivery options you have today. Why you choose one over the other could be related to that service being easier to use, being more fluid, having better customer care or faster delivery, whatever it may be it could be related directly to digital transformation.

• Employee Experience: This isn’t simply just getting the newest apps and devices for your workforce, this is about creating a more satisfactory, modern, and a simpler experience for your most valuable assets. Studies have shown that companies that invest in employee experience have had more dedicated, productive workforce which in turn has led to higher customer satisfaction levels. Digital transformation can not only help provide people with the tools they need but also provide for pretty much everything they need from anywhere, at any time.

• Process Automation: In order for an organization to provide exceptional customer and employee experiences, they need to be operating flawlessly on the back end. Simplified workflows, digital processes and automated tasks are the ways with which a company can create efficiency.
  

• Product Digitalization: Product digitalization means using technology to develop some sort of service or product that is linked via smart link or other smart Technologies like voice command. Digital transformations, helps companies stay in line with state of the art Technologies and also provides the necessary flexible infrastructure required to constantly innovate and adapt to rapid change and consumer demands.

Who is in Charge of Digital Transformation?

Earlier, it was considered that digital transformation projects were only an IT initiative. However now, digital transformation is synonymous with work transformation. For any digital transformation initiative, showing this aspect is a must. Also showing how a technology investment would potentially affect profits is also crucial. IT and HR industries are leading the digital transformation. Digital transformation has also forced the IT role to be shifted as well, instead of being a problem solver/ fixer, IT now serves as a more strategic partner amongst companies that facilitates changes. With how intertwined customer and employee experiences are nowadays, HR and IT now have a common share in a companies’ digital transformation. It’s not about just providing the latest technology nowadays. According to an Economist İntelligence Unit report, almost all the IT and HR directors ( 74 and 75 percent respectively ) feel responsible when t comes to improving employee experience. CIO’s and CHRO’s need to work closely together to make sure that the current Technologies are in accordance with HR and Security procedures while also making sure that these Technologies are also satisfying the employee’s needs. These shared goals, planning process and inter-functional talent pools along with new KPI’s are giving us more insight into the employee digital transformation.

HR and IT directors share the responsibility when it comes to planning digital transformation, and applying the plan. Employees also need to be clear about what they need and want. One way to achieve this is to conduct regular employee questionnaire or conduct focus groups consistently.

Benefits of A Successful Digital Transformation Strategy:

• Increased Mobility: Consumers spend many hours on mobile devices, also employees are linked to smart phones, tablets, laptops. Agile companies, require mobile solutions that offer the same experience of an Office space Most digital transformation solutions take mobility into Account as a key point. It is vital for a modern company to expand end user experiences to include mobile platforms. Companies from various sectors benefit from using mobile solutions to increase productivity, operational efficiency, and satisfaction levels.

• Data Security: Effective digital transformation projects, especially in this era of linked devices and big data, can help support a companies dedication to data security. Within the scope of the relevant data protection regulations, shareholders need to be extra careful when it comes to handling data, especially if this data is in bulk, this aspect becomes even more important. Globally companies may be required to be in accordance with certain international security, privacy regulations and these must be implemented into any sort of transformation strategy.

• Enchanced User Experience: Companies are starting to adapt new Technologies to increase efficiency via more intuitional interactions, simpler interfaces while also increasing their functionality as a company.

  What are the common challenges of Digital Transformation?

Not leading with strategy; Digital transformation is not a one and done type of Project. This is an ongoing process that constantly needs to be fed and developed. Applying a certain technology without looking at the big Picture may cause more problems than benefits. A digital transformation needs to start with a vision, and every Project should derive from it. While thinking about a vision, one must keep in mind the business strategy, how a transformation would affect this strategy and how it could support it. A company needs the right leadership with the correct strategy for this to work. When proposing a new Project, inspecting how this would support the business and how it would affect profits is crucial. Once you’ve secured the leadership input, you can avoid budget difficulties that may affect your Project. In the past, IT was solely responsible for digital transformation, this is not the case nowadays. Digital transformation has become a corporate wide inter-functional effort and therefore leaders and employees need to be involved in the process.

When leaders apply a technology without getting in touch with the people actually using the potential solution day in day out, they run the risk of investing in a tool that doesn’t necessarily satisfy the needs of the company. To ensure that the solution is actually working properly and not causing new challenges or difficulties they need end user insight.

At the initial stages of a new investment, the deciders should ask the current users about their experiences with the current system and try and gain insight as to how to improve the process. Afterwards the shareholders should continue to get feedback from the users that are using the active technology throughout. In time these insights will contribute to the overall continuous improvement and help build towards new transformations.