It goes without saying that technology has revolutionised the way we live and work. We’ve moved from physical filing cabinets to SharePoint document management, from a weekly shop at the big Asda to online grocery shopping and our entire lives are accessible within our smartphones.
As time goes on, technology progresses at a faster rate than ever. Now we don’t even have to log into our Amazon or Asda account to order some laundry detergent; we’ve got a button on the washing machine that’ll order it for us! We can now watch TV wearing Google Glasses and be given information about the actor and TV programme in real time as we watch; similarly, shows on Amazon Prime display the full cast in any given scene and give us fun facts about our favourite shows. We can print prosthetic limbs, engine parts and action figures of ourselves (taken from our selfies of course!) thanks to 3D printing.
Let’s go beyond dash buttons and artificially-intelligent facts about Mr Robot. Technology has had a profound impact on the business world where we are now operating and communicating in an advanced way. How organisations interact with customers and manage internal systems and processes has been, in some cases, completely revolutionised. Businesses are moving away from laborious and expensive paper-based processes to streamlined app-based solutions and saving money on office space thanks to the cloud and the reduced need for on-site servers.
A common misconception is that only big businesses can truly implement digital transformation strategies, but that’s no longer the case. We’ve moved on from the days when only large enterprise businesses had the ability to implement new technology that would add to the bottom line. We’ve entered an era in which the mid-market and SMEs have the technology readily available to implement in order to reap the same rewards as their much larger counterparts thanks to market saturation and a shift towards subscription-based pricing.
It’s encouraging, then, to see that the vast majority of managers believe that “achieving digital transformation is critical” within their organisations (MIT Sloan Management).
However, an additional 63% stated that the pace of technological change in their workplaces is too slow. This is largely due to a “lack of urgency” and lack of communication when it comes to demonstrating the business benefits of implementing new tools.
Digital transformation shouldn’t be about making a lot of big changes all at once. It should start off with small changes that will have a big impact before incrementally moving towards larger tasks and, soon enough, revising entire processes.
Key things to consider when it comes to digital transformation strategy:
- Ensure your digital transformation strategy aligns with your business goals
- Understand that digital transformation won’t happen overnight; it’s an ongoing process and not a stand-alone, one-off project
- Look beyond the technology – of course, technology is intrinsic to digital transformation, but you also need the right people and the right processes
Natasha Bougourd is TSG’s Lead Applications Writer, specialising in SharePoint document management, IT support, Office 365, Dynamics Nav modules, hosted telephony solutions and business intelligence.
TSG is an IT support company that has expertise across a wide range of technologies and has helped businesses achieve GDPR compliance through the use of technology. From Office 365 to Sage and Pegasus ERP solutions to IT support, infrastructure and cyber-security solutions, TSG has a highly-skilled workforce working across all areas of business tech. Holding 8 Microsoft Gold competencies, TSG places focus on a highly-skilled and qualified workforce with over 1000 recognised accreditations between its team of experts, including MSCE Certifications, Prince2 and ITIL qualifications.
