Digital transformation must be sustainable. And a lot. And very fast. Especially the digital environment. The faster the responses to these changes, the greater the competitive advantage they offer companies. But, how or through what can we be quick in the face of these changes? What are the keys to digital transformation in a company ?
It is necessary to adopt a digital transformation strategy
A typewriter, an analog camera or a rotary telephone, or anything useful 20 years ago. They are elements that share an essence: the essence of the old. We often see them incorporated into the shelves of vintage -style cafes and shops . But, in any case, its role today cannot transcend its decorative function. This, applied to the business world, makes it necessary for any company to be clear that, if it wants to function correctly within the existing context (very close to hosting 5G technology, big data , artificial intelligence and everything that this entails, terms related to hyperconnection ) , you must have in yourroadmap the digitization of its processes and tools as a key point.
Digitization, consumer habits have changed , is inevitable as technology allows us to work from a mobile phone or even design a product on our screen and send it to a 3D printer. But in the hands of each organization is to provide the necessary tools and culture to make a difference in terms of operability and efficiency in an increasingly globalized world.
Thus, the digital transformation has permeated society at all levels: although it is the most obvious at first glance, it has not only affected the introduction of digital communication (now with social networks and instant messaging), but it has also supposed a revolution for education, health, and for companies, changing the customer experience in all sectors.
And what does business digital transformation entail?
The first change happens, beyond the use of technologies, through the change in the culture of the organization. And it is that the digital business transformation is not reduced to sending emails instead of letters, but rather the mentality of the company must be reoriented, and be directed towards innovation and efficiency .
It also modifies the distribution of powers. Technology makes it possible to democratize power, since, for example, it can connect multiple employees in a meeting, workers who can even be found in other geographical areas and who, therefore, in another era, could not be as present in the decision of decisions.
Therefore, the digital transformation drives above all a change in the business and organizational model, so that communication becomes more horizontal, and the hierarchical structure is immediately affected by this change. For this reason, not all organizations are already prepared for a transversal digital transformation . A congruence must be previously achieved between what the transformation implies and the leadership style, hierarchy and structure of the organization.
And this last point is related to optimization. Collaboration environments, video conference rooms or other instant communication tools help complete tasks more efficiently. Now, there are services for the joint preparation of documents via the Internet, where an unlimited number of people can participate in the creation of a report or a piece of work from different physical and temporary spaces.
All this also contributes to other benefits. To begin with, the workers of a company value this change, since the increase in productivity leads to a general feeling of satisfaction. Customers also appreciate the digital transformation, as it speeds up many processes, in which they can also participate in a more active, easy and dynamic way.
Cost savings is another factor to take into account, and it is mainly due to the dematerialization of the economy that Cloud Computing technology facilitates. A study by Accenture calculated that digital transformation in companies can lead to an increase of 1.25 trillion euros in the GDP of 10 major economic powers. And of course this digital transformation must be sustainable .
Advantages of digital transformation
The digital transformation provides flexibility, and favors the globalization and dematerialization of the company. At Ecoembes we have managed to increase these contributions, thanks to the digital transformation project that is being carried out in the organization. The vision is that it no longer connects with physical terminals, but that the connection with the person is sought. Digitization has allowed us, paradoxically, to humanize relationships to a certain extent, through tools such as Microsoft Teams, or Skype for Business, which keep the person connected in any location, and transmit documents and information more quickly. All of this, together with fully equipped rooms to favor instant communication, allows us to increase efficiency and the possibility of interconnecting everything with everything, in search of offering that speed of change that was named at the beginning. This gives rise to new opportunities.