9 Unignorable Benefits of Digital Transformation
Whether it's moving business systems to the cloud, replacing fixed phone networks with a flexible, internet-based, all-in-one communication platform that promotes communication, or making better use of data to inform business decisions, digital transformation impacts every area of a company.
The last few years have accelerated the digital transformation journey of many companies.
In this blog, we look closer at the main digital transformation benefits.
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Increased Transparency
A successful digital transformation doesn't just bring change in processes, it improves access to and analysis of data.
From a transparency perspective, this is important for creating accountability, whether that's for ownership of a project, or for governance over data collection.
Digital solutions like cloud collaboration software, for example, create transparent audit trails of who is working on a project, who is responsible for working on a particular part of that project, and who accessed information last.
Because employees are being held accountable for their actions, it makes it more likely that projects will move forward (nobody wants to be the one holding everything up).
But from a data governance perspective, this transparency is essential for staying on the right side of data protection regulations like GDPR.
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Cost Savings
Cost reduction through digital transformation comes in many forms.
Whether it's using digital processes to automate manual (repetitive) tasks like approvals or inbound call management so employees can focus on higher value tasks, or using data analytics to 'predict' when a machine is nearing failure so repairs can be made before anything goes wrong.
One obvious cost saving that can benefit most (if not all) businesses is using digital technology like VOIP to move a company's phone network away from a fixed phone line model, to an internet based system that puts all types of communication (voice, video, messaging, conferencing etc) in one place.
Using this type of digital transformation removes the expensive hardware costs of phones and fixed lines running from a street cabinet into an office.
Instead, it replaces it with a cloud-based communication system that allows all calls to be answered by any device with an internet connection - no matter where the device is.
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A Massive Efficiency Boost
Operational efficiencies are widely described as one of the biggest business benefits of digital transformation among business leaders.
Around 40% of executives say using digital technologies to improve complicated, inefficient processes is the main reason their company went through a digital transformation.
Whether it's replacing legacy systems with digital tools (like using contact centre as a service to provide better customer service) or using unified communications as a service to replace legacy phone systems that encourage collaboration and improve processes.
There is no part of a company that can't gain from the benefits of digital transformation.
Improved Customer Experience
Customer demands are much higher when it comes to the level of service they receive from companies today.
Whether you're trying to improve slow response times to enquiries, create more digital experiences for customers or limit the number of human errors leading to complaints, putting digital technology at the centre of a business strategy can help.
And it works.
Around 35% of executives say adopting a digital model in their business has helped them meet customer expectations.
Make Data-Driven Decisions
90% of enterprise analytics and business professionals say data and analytics are key to their organisation's digital transformation initiatives.
Access to accurate, real-time data brings improvements across every part of a business and is one of the main benefits of digital transformation.
Allowing teams to access business-critical data helps improve decision-making across departments.
For example, product developers can use customer feedback to improve products.
Leaders can improve business models based on where the data shows the biggest inefficiencies are.
This data can also be used to get a competitive advantage in your market, something many digital transformation efforts focus on.
According to research, 'data-driven businesses' are 23 times more likely to win new customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable than businesses that don't use data in the decision-making process.
Enhance Company Culture
Digital transformation benefits aren't limited to technology and processes, in fact focusing a digital transformation on just these things will likely lead to failure.
That's because a successful digital transformation heavily relies on a complete culture shift that puts employee engagement, communication and collaboration at its centre.
The benefits of digital transformation when it comes to improving employee engagement are obvious.
Freeing employees from repetitive, mundane tasks that can be automated gives teams more time and opportunity to take on more interesting work.
Cloud-based software also encourages collaboration, creating a more flexible work environment that allows employees to work from anywhere while still having everything they'd have in the office.
This type of autonomy can have huge benefits on employee motivation and morale (because teams don't feel like they're being dictated to from the top of a company). This is something most business leaders understand the need for.
86% of executives say employees have more independence and influence after going through a digital transformation.
Improve Time-to-Market
Delaying the release of a new product can be a killer and mean it will flop before it's ever had a chance.
Historically the product development process has been a highly manual, time-consuming process.
But now, with data-driven insights leading to improved decision-making on features and a better understanding of the target audience, product development is becoming a much smarter process.
Whether it's automating the development process, modernising the supply chain to more accurate customer targeting to drive increased profitability, improving time to market is one of the most significant benefits of digital transformation.
Better Collaboration
The last thing you want to happen during a digital transformation project is for different departments (or teams) to compete with each other on bringing in new technology.
This will inevitably create barriers between teams and could lead to inefficiency costs if departments are bringing in similar technology.
Instead, any digital transformation strategies should take a company-wide view, ensuring the business gets the most out of any digital platform or software invested in.
This doesn't always happen, and 75% of executives admit that individual business functions are competing on digital transformation rather than collaborating.
Unified communication as a service is a prime example of a business-wide digital transformation aimed at improving collaboration.
UCaaS brings all a company's voice, video, messaging, conferencing and file sharing under one platform.
It allows teams to easily collaborate across communication channels without the need for multiple systems.
For example, two employees could start a voice call, which could change to a three-person video call, which could turn into a 6 person video conference with a whiteboard presentation, all without ending the original line.
Why digital transformation is important
As we've discussed, a digital transformation can impact any area of a business and can even inspire entirely new business models.
A strategic digital transformation can completely change the way an organisation works, making it more profitable in the short and medium term, while also making it more adaptable to changing circumstances in the future.
And the last few years have shown us how important that is.
See our digital transformation projects in action
If you think your business could benefit from what we've talked about in this blog, the next step is to see how we've already helped hundreds of customers go through a business transformation using technology.
Our case studies provide the details of how our clients have benefitted from our transformation consulting services and the steps we've taken to ensure they get the most out of any new technology.