What is a digital transformation strategy?

What is a digital transformation strategy?

New technologies are easy to deceive. The opportunities for 5G mobile service to change the way we work are huge. When companies think about how artificial intelligence technology can improve business processes or affect sales and customer service, there is a tendency to use and make changes. However, every new technology in 2020 and the next decade could have a broader meaning.

That's why it's so important for companies to have a digital transformation strategy. When new technologies emerge, companies can avoid the pitfalls of deploying them by placing them in a way that causes a large (or even very small) gap and does not track them properly. changes within the organization.

The main idea of ​​a digital transformation strategy is to analyze your needs and your corporate culture, set business goals and understand and document risks, conduct frequent tests and trials, get feedback from internal staff about these applications and continue. new ones continue to analyze the technology and then its effectiveness.

The following steps can help you develop a digital transformation strategy in a way that allows you to make the necessary changes in your business in the most efficient way.

1. Analyze the culture

Any digital transformation strategy should begin with an analysis of the company's culture. The reason is simply that your culture - for example, the people in your organization, the products and services you offer, and even your location - determines the effectiveness of the transformation. By looking at your own culture, you can determine how much new technology has stopped working in your business, how it will be acquired, and its overall impact. Some technologies, such as artificial intelligence, chatbots, Wi-Fi technology, network security, and Bitcoin, will have different effects on certain sectors and cultures.

2. Set business goals

 

This is where the old axiom "people perish without sight" comes into play. While it's tempting to apply a new technology just because it's new and everyone is making a difference, the truth is that the time has come, it may not be ideal, or you need to be more diligent and strategic about new technology. it is in line with your culture. You isolate the current and business processes you use when setting trade targets because you can separate a business target from a technology target (which can be extremely different).

3. Document the risks.

 

Many companies know that digital transformation is a risk. This is a similar risk when a company introduces a new internal application that introduces a product. Sometimes the problem with digital transformation is that companies analyze and discuss risks, but do not document or track these risks for some time. An example of this is the 5G mobile service. 5G for 2020 and beyond offers the most significant conversion potential among companies, but it is also a technology that offers many risks in terms of availability, from products that can use 5G to yours. better and at an unknown cost.

4. Conducting pilot tests

 

After analyzing the technology and documenting the risks, it's time to test the technology (instead of spreading it to all segments of your business and all employees). With conversion technology like chatbots, this can include testing technology such as product support with a single workflow. This means a smaller pilot test with only part of the internal or support process. Pilot testing helps solve problems, but it also helps you see the impact of new technologies on your work and culture.

5. Ask for feedback

 

In the pilot phase of your digital transformation strategy, it is important to generate revenue frequently. This part of your strategy should be more than a group discussion or an analysis of a test data set. The most effective way to ask for feedback is to conduct a survey, set up multiple focus groups to analyze data from each pilot project or conduct multiple activities over and over again. The most effective strategy is to analyze everything related to a pilot project and seek feedback before applying the technology on a large scale.

6. Application of new technologies.

After analyzing the pilots and following all the other steps in your digital conversion strategy, it's time to implement this technology, perhaps with a service or a team. At this point, it is best not to try to fully master and partially apply the technology, or it will only affect a small part of your business as a pilot has yet to test. Trust the scans you do and the drivers you do.

7. Continue to analyze the impact.

It is important to continue application analysis as part of any digital transformation strategy. It's easy to make big technological changes, such as using Bitcoin as a transaction tool or using artificial intelligence as part of a customer service process, but let's say these technologies work and everyone is happy with the results.

Often, when companies look at a new technology they are implementing, they see that there are still a lot of other changes they need to see. An example of this is artificial intelligence. If a company decides to use AI as part of a sales process, it may feel immediate gains and improvements, but after a more detailed analysis, it should understand that the company cannot use it. You need to further automate the sales process or not automate certain steps.

 

In general, any digital transformation strategy will be most effective when you adopt technology to your culture, the risks involved in your business, and the business goals you set for yourself. As mentioned above, it is important to separate your business goals and processes from the risks you define and link to digital transformation goals. The company must continue to operate as before; Technology is a way to make it more fluid.

Shehzad Ul Hassan

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