In the past few months, we’ve seen businesses scurrying to implement remote work arrangements to curb the spread of the pandemic. Between accelerated timelines and steep technology adoption curves, the need for digital transformation has never been more apparent.
Digital transformation is the process of transforming services or business processes by adopting new digital technologies, such as replacing manual data encoding with an automated data entry process.
But digital transformation does not just mean upgrading existing technologies. Migrating data to the cloud to accommodate your remote workforce doesn’t mean you’ve digitally transformed your business. Digital transformation is, above all, about improving organizational adaptability.
Digital transformation is, above all, about improving organizational adaptability.
Because organizational adaptability involves everyone in the company, digital transformation ultimately boils down to changes in business mentality and company culture. These changes in perspective will allow your business to reap the following benefits:
More consistent and efficient processes
Generally, IT upgrades are decided by top-level executives without extensive dialogues with their employees. This approach in decision-making can result in a discrepancy between the technologies a company implements and the solutions its employees actually need.
Inadequate technologies drive employees to use their own preferred apps and tools, resulting in inconsistent and incompatible ways of information sharing and data management. This may even create silos, or isolated points in the system that cannot be shared with the rest of the organization — and information that cannot be shared has no value.
In contrast, a business that prizes multidimensional perspectives and cultivates a culture of sharing takes into consideration what every staff needs when making IT decisions. This ensures that any investment in technology will address the problems it is meant to solve.
Clear and unified IT goals
Silos can also exist in organizations. Organizational silos are created when the company goals are not clearly spelled out, resulting in groups focusing on immediate results that are discrete from the long-term company goals.
Organizational silos can hinder a business’s digital transformation when various teams are doing different things, with each one believing that their methods and solutions are the best.
For a business to digitally transform, its people must have a shared vision of what they want to do with their technology. Its workforce must find answers to questions such as, “What problems do we want to solve? How are we going to solve them using IT, and by when?” This mindset enables a business to prioritize IT investments that will allow teams to work together efficiently to achieve company goals.
Quicker IT adoption
Company-wide buy-in is critical when implementing technological changes. The entire organization — from C-level executives to entry-level staff — must approve a company’s digital transformation strategy for it to succeed. Innovation has to be supported at all levels.
If your workforce supports your IT decisions, adopting new technologies will be easier. After all, your employees will be dealing with technology that they had a part in choosing. What’s more, when your employees understand their role in your company’s digital transformation and how they are driving change, they will be more receptive to new technologies and make the most of it.
More than ever, businesses are pressured to digitally transform their processes in order to keep up with the changing times. If you don’t know where to start with your company’s digital transformation, consult SpectrumWise. As business technology specialists, we can help your business adopt IT solutions that matter. Schedule a no-obligation meeting with us today.
