Your Company’s Digital Transformation Will Succeed. Here’s How.

A successful digital transformation is the key to your organization’s future, as we provided overwhelming evidence for in A Statistical Case for Digital Transformation. According to Salesforce, “Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements.” Depending on your business, your leadership team may prioritize wholesale changes in your business model, processes, market domain, or culture, but critical aspects of each of these changes require transformational digital technologies.

Global investments for businesses implementing new technologies across a broad spectrum of business functions will likely nearly double between the years 2020 and 2024, according to Statista. By 2023, digitally transformed organizations are forecast to contribute more than half of global GDP. IDC research projects that 3 of every 4 business leaders will leverage digital platforms by 2025 to adapt to new markets and industries, and 30% of organizations will increase innovation and reinvent their business models to future-proof their companies.

Not every business is prepared to execute successfully on digital transformation, however, and lack of preparation may hit small and midsize businesses particularly hard. If you anticipate a struggle, here are some transformation success factors to consider:

Become a data-driven organization

The big data analytics market is set to reach $103 billion by 2023 according to Statista, yet 95% of businesses cite the need to manage unstructured data as a problem for their business. Leveraging data and using it to support analytics-based decision-making is essential, but larger organizations typically have more sophisticated analytics capabilities. In smaller organizations, the shift to a data-driven organization must begin with digital leaders running the businesses.

SMBs must have data experts on hand or consultants to work with their teams to develop data strategies for business intelligence, R&D, customer relationship management (CRM), and workforce development. Strategies must address data collection and storage, and technology tools to leverage insights from data. Your data expert(s) will ensure that your team is aligned and working with the right data toward measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) so that your executives can monitor patterns and develop appropriate strategies to benefit your business. Finely honed business instincts are already no match for the power of data to anticipate opportunities and drive more effective business decisions.

Know the impacts AI, ML, and robotics will likely have in your industry

The global AI software market is predicted to snowball in the next few years, reaching $126 billion by 2025. Industries including supply chain and manufacturing are intensively involved in leveraging IoT devices with AI and ML (Machine Learning) software to find solutions to improve operational efficiencies, improve workflows, and maintain high levels of efficiency across their businesses. We are seeing transformational effects of these technologies in every sector we serve at ECI Software Solutions, from office technology to home building, and in every application, from inventory management to proof of delivery.

Rethink your organization’s orientation

Innovation can drive meaningful change, but many SMBs should begin to rethink their orientation today, and whether it can keep pace with rapidly changing industry and market conditions tomorrow. Consider your emerging weaknesses. Are you too product- and competitor-focused? Or are you focused on internal proprietary processes to a degree that you can’t effectively bring in new employees that can hit the ground running? Similarly, are you squarely focused on the markets you have been operating in, without considering core strengths and how they might be leveraged to broaden your business? Do you bring in consultants to determine whether your domain focus and processes are keeping pace with competitors?

Are you customer-centric? Do you track data on the customer journey and how customers interact with your brand across channels? Are you developing strategic partnerships that can help you deliver more value through technology? Or are customers and prospects providing negative feedback about their experiences or just dropping off? Many SMBs have to become much more externally focused, and technologies should be used to orient the business toward customers.

Though not every business is prepared for digital transformation, this is to the advantage of those that are making the right investments today. With the right focus, people, and technology, the steps you take at this moment could propel your business’ growth for decades to come.