Digital transformation is no longer just a question mark written on the white board in a conference room. Neither is a topic that needs to be discussed some day in the near future. That future has already come and such transformation is now a matter of business survival. Time is running out. Companies must act quicker than ever if they want to stay competitive and preserve their existence. New rules must apply, new IT trends must be created and new ideas must be followed in order to avoid total collapse of core IT business purposes, goals and presence on the overall market. Change the tools to change the results. You cannot expect to use a typewriter and develop the software of the future.
We say digital transformation but what is that really? What does that really mean? Is it just trendy words combined together? No, it isn’t.
It is a dynamic force that lives on smart choices, breathes out demands for continuous modernization and breathes in the efforts of everyone involved in the process. Entrepreneurs, start-up companies, already affirmed players in the big game, individual trend-setters and the rest of the IT community constructors interpret it in various ways as it encompasses various aspects itself. All of these business owners change its meaning in accordance with a set of values and principles which their own business is built on. Yet, regardless of so many people openly discussing and showing readiness to digital transformation, some of them are still afraid to make the first step towards pursuing such change actively. They are afraid to be the first ones. People quite often tend to look at changes as being a bit inconvenient for the time being or even disruptive. In consequence, some of them can experience difficulties gong out of their comfort zone. But going out of one’s comfort zone is just the right weapon that shoots out progress and helps them embark on innovative approaches to support development. Luckily, the phenomenon is said to turn into tradition well received by industry leaders. Especially now when in 2016 the interest in digital transformation has increased tremendously.
Of course, the term is way too broad and cannot fit into one definition only. If you ask 10 people, you will get 10 different answers. Or even 11 simply because digital transformation is not static. In general, it could start from what cannot be physically felt, like changing business mindset and thinking for the long-term instead, to a technological device, such as the next Apple watch that can project holograms, for example. What is more, it is about analytics, decision systems and thinking in a big-data sense. Furthermore, this transformation encompasses web applications, mobile applications, enterprise upgrading and modern business thinking on the whole. Customer engagement, user experience, interaction are all fundamental aspects that accompany this digital-oriented process. What is more, digital transformation goes from cloud-based platforms and services, through wearable technologies, to application modernization. It even affects how people think of their clients and, in fact, urges them to put their customers’ interest before anything else.
Some data and call-to-action statistics. Act now and don’t suffer later.
The State Of Digital Business Report is carried out by Progress. It includes 10 countries and asks the opinion of 700 managers at different levels, including marketing managers, teamleads of IT departments, software engineers, developers, IT architects. The report indicates several key findings in terms of how business owners from different parts of the world see and what they think of digital transformation. In this sense,
- 62% of the surveyed leaders point out that their company resists change and is still unsure whether or not they should transform digitally
- 55% think they have about a year to make the digital transformation happen before they undergo financial and/or competitive crisis
- 59% are worried that it is already too late
The situation in Bulgaria is quite turbulent as well. 63% of the Bulgarian survey participants share that organizations in our country lack the digital skills necessary for a successful digital transformation. Only 10% feel confident and believe they have the best people in place that will help their organization throughout one such digital-focused transition. But what is more important, people are starting to realize that change must be made. Thus, more than half of the Bulgarian organizations are convinced they will suffer negative consequences, unless they transform digitally any time soon.
So why is digital transformation important for your business?
On the whole, it equals business acceleration that helps companies embrace a new culture of change. That acceleration, though, requires modification in the management style, asks for more productive ways of working and demands reorganized leadership as well as vision. Upgraded corporate functions, enhanced mechanisms, better models, well prepared assets, polished competencies as well as streamlined customer-tech interaction – these are all part of the big change. Digital transformation is truly bridging the gap between audience and technology; between innovation and those who see it already done and in its complete form. It also modernizes strategies with the help of technologies and gives an opportunity to rethink how you manage your business. It enables you to think outside the box and experiment with something that has the drills of the modern-day era in it.
Finally, we live in a tech-driven world so digital transformations are happening right here right now. If we were to summarize the whole process in one word, it would be “survival.” It is true that such transformation has been around ever since mobile devices and the Internet penetrated our lives. Yet, it has now grown to become something that modern companies can hardly live without. Technological changes can be viewed as business changes. They are mandatory and if one organization lacks the innovative thinking or bravery to transform digitally, then it is doomed to stay on the same level, without progressing further on. Only those willing to integrate new tendencies, technologies, methods and ways of operating will be able to survive in this highly competitive and ever-evolving IT environment.
