Benefits of Digital Transformation for Your Business

There are a huge number of benefits of digital transformation in businesses today. According to Forbes, 87% of companies think digitization will disrupt their industry, but only 44% feel they are ready for that disruption. It’s something that all businesses should implement at some point in their growth cycles.

A digital transformation is any dramatic digital change in how businesses operate, communicate, and engage with their customers. This could mean more automation or artificial intelligence or even upgrading a company’s supply chain.

It likely means transitioning from a paper-based business to a fully digitized one. No matter what an organization does to transform itself digitally, there are always benefits to be had both inside and outside of the company.

Paper-based business processes not only are slow, dated, and take up a lot of costly storage, they also can be at risk for damages or security breaches. Digitizing your business process opens the door to productive integration and automations that aren’t available through a paper-based system.

Getting rid of paper-based processes will not only streamline your business, but it’ll also help workers become more productive. With automated workflows in place, your employees are free to focus on higher-level tasks that don’t require so much formality, like client management or strategic planning. Automating tasks allows them to give more energy to other important areas. And by giving workers flexibility—allowing them to move around throughout a digital platform—you’re improving their work experience and increase retention.

A well-executed transformation can help contribute to your bottom line both from a both an efficiency and a marketing standpoint. Studies have shown that digitizing your business processes can lead to a 40% annual increase in overall efficiency.

This improvement often leads to lower costs and increased revenue, especially when you’re working with a digital partner who takes care of everything from hosting services to hardware solutions. On top of that, many digitized businesses report a 36% increase in ability to meet customer needs as digitization becomes the norm. Satisfied customers can be some of the best marketing advocates for your company and bring in new business in ways other marketing can’t.

As industries move more towards digital transformation, you’ll need to keep up or fall behind competitors. If you don’t find a way to make your business more efficient with technology, then your competitors will beat you to it. That means that if you want to stand out from your competition, or even just keep up, becoming more technologically advanced is imperative.

External consultants can help you better discover how digital transformation can benefit your company and keep you from going down the wrong path. They can work with you to identify areas where automation and digitization could increase efficiency or bring added benefits to your bottom line. After an initial consultation, they can then proceed with designing your digital transformation strategy—and walk you through each step along the way.

The right software can improve data management, document collaboration, help automate manual processes, or create efficiencies in other key areas. The type of business you’re running will influence what solutions you need. For example: A manufacturer will probably need accounting or ERP software. A law firm will require practice management software.

Once your processes are streamlined, it’s time to train your employees on these digital changes. Don’t overlook how important it is to not only train employees on how to use tools like project management software, but also give them a walkthrough of what they can accomplish with all these new features (such as auto notifications when tasks are due). So long as workers understand their role in carrying out these procedures, you can rest assured that your business will run more smoothly than ever before.

Help Your Team Understand The Benefits of A Digital Transformation

The benefits of a digital transformation can often be lost on your employees if they don’t understand how their jobs will change. Helping them understand why a digital transformation is good for them and their job means they’ll be more apt to embrace change when it comes.

Now that you’ve identified your business process pain points, it’s time to determine how long it will take to resolve them. A common digital transformation road map looks like a cross between a Gantt chart, a phase diagram, and a risk-versus-reward table. It should show not only when you expect to deploy technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) or blockchain but also what milestones you expect along your journey.

Determine if you’ve met your digital transformation goals

In order to determine if you’ve met your digital transformation goals, it’s important to be realistic about where you want to go with your transformation. Digital transformations are broad processes that can impact a variety of departments within an organization. For example, it might help you reach some goals, but not others. It’s important to be honest with yourself about how each goal will change or benefit your business before deciding on which ones are worth pursuing.

Today, business operations are underpinned by digital transformation. Without it, enterprises can’t deliver on customer expectations; they can’t innovate or stay competitive. Digital transformation is essential to business success in every industry.

If you’re interested in a digital transformation for your business, contact our team at GCS. Our experts can get you started with a strategic road map and detailed plans. Don’t wait until your competition outpaces you, start transforming your business today!