What is Digital Transformation and why is it so important for businesses nowadays?
DT is a process of technology implementation to ease the workflow of enterprises, improve customer experience and remain competitive. Digital transformation is essential for organizations in various industries for several key reasons:
1. Increasing Strengths
Usually digital transformation involves automatization of working processes. This leads to efficiency growth, lowering errors, reducing need of human resources usage and cost decrease.
2 Customer Experience Improvements
All clients expect to receive fast and high quality interactions with them. DT enables companies to carry out Chatbots, self-service options and personalized services to satisfy their customers’ needs.
3. Informed Decision-Making Based on Data
Digital technologies generate data quantities. Data analytics helps businesses make right decisions, define trends, and get statistics of customer behavior.
4. Stimulation of Innovation and Adaptability
Digital technologies open a culture of innovation and adaptability. It motivates organizations to experiment with new technologies and business models, resulting in new products, services and new income sources.
5. New Security Possibilities
In a digital world, cybersecurity and data protection are of main importance. The global average data breach cost was $4.35 million in 2022. To avoid cyber attacks and data breaches, with digital technologies organizations can implement trustful security measures and data protection protocols to lower risks and protect sensitive information.
6. Environmental Responsibility
Going digital reduces the need for and the amount of physical resources like paper and energy, contributing to sustainability and a smaller carbon footprint.
7. Stable and Continuing Workflow
Digital transformation makes businesses more stable to natural disasters or global crises like COVID-19. Cloud-based systems, possibility to work remotely and various digital communication tools enable quick adaptation to any circumstances.
As we have explored the significance of digital transformation, let’s now delve into the top trends in digital transformation for 2024.
1. Adaptation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions
We can confidently add ERP to the list of top trends of Digital Transformation. It was adopted by different industries as a cost-efficient tool for many businesses.
According to Microsoft Dynamics 365, an Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a type of software that helps organizations automate and manage main business processes for optimal performance. ERP software coordinates the stream of data between a company’s business processes, providing a single source of truth and optimizing operations across the enterprise. It’s able to connect a company’s financials, supply chain, operations, commerce, reporting, manufacturing, and human resources activities on a single platform.
Enterprise resource planning can be implemented in several types of businesses, for example:
- Supply chain.
- Commerce.
- Manufacturing.
- Finance.
- Human resources.
Thanks to the functionality of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) module, the main challenges of organizing daily business operations have become more stable and easier to manage.
In summary, an ERP solution is a set-up that combines features from different software in one system, that promotes agile operations and minimizes resource inefficiencies, ensuring a reliable return on investment.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
We cannot deny the importance of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the digital world. So let’s also define its role in the process of digital transformation.
The main importance of ML and AI is the ability to analyze data and make market novelties predictions. With the help of Artificial Intelligence algorithms, enterprises can identify clients’ preferences and previous purchases. So next time they can show customers the products that can be interesting for them. Likewise, Machine Learning can be useful in analyzing complex data and clients’ behavior to assign pricing strategies, forecast demand and potential sales ways.
Another weighty advantage of AI is Chatbots for customer services. They save time and human resources by processing clients’ requests and directing them to the suitable sources.
To sum up, AI and ML bring big value in the digital transformation process. They can help companies become more innovative, flexible and adaptive. The main aspects of AI and ML are as follows:
- Automatization of task to preserve money and human sources
- Data analysis predictions helpful in decision-making
- Improvements in customer service support and customer satisfaction
3. Implementation of IoT technologies
We usually associate the Internet of Things with connected homes or smart buildings. However, it’s not entirely accurate, as IoT can also be integrated into your digital transformation process in several ways. For example:
- With IoT devices, you can monitor and analyze data or trends in real-time, identify possible errors before they happen
- IoT technologies provide additional layers of protection, reducing the risk of data leaks and other cyberattacks
- By collecting data on customer behavior, you can create highly targeted offers, raise brand loyalty and improve the customer experience
- In specific industries such as logistics or manufacturing, IoT services can optimize your enterprise’s workflow through Industrial IoT applications, resulting in cost reduction and increased income
3. Value of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have gained significant popularity among businesses in recent years. Developing separated applications for various operating systems is not only more expensive but also considerably more time-consuming. By this problem, PWA apps have surged in popularity as a means to create a unified online platform.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are crafted using web technologies and can be installed and operated on all types of devices, all from a single codebase.
PWAs deliver user experiences similarly to native applications on devices that support them. They intelligently adapt to the capabilities offered by each device and are able to work within web browsers, much like normal websites.
According to Microsoft experts, PWAs have several benefits like:
1. PWAs, when installed, function like typical apps:
- They have their own icons for the device’s home screen or taskbar.
- PWAs can launch automatically with associated file types.
- They run upon user sign-in.
- PWAs can be submitted to app stores like Microsoft Store.
2. PWAs also possess advanced capabilities:
- They work offline.
- Support push notifications.
- Conduct periodic updates even when not in use.
- Access hardware features.
3. PWAs can run in web browsers, similar to websites. This offers several advantages:
- They can be indexed by search engines.
- Easily shared and launched via standard web links.
- PWAs prioritize user safety with secure HTTPS endpoints and other protections.
- They adapt to screen size, orientation, and input methods.
- Utilize advanced web APIs like WebBluetooth, WebUSB, WebPayment, WebAuthn, or WebAssembly.
4. Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a top one problem for any type of business. Every year the number of hacked or leaked companies is extremely growing. According to the 2022 FBI’s Internet Crime Report, the public reported 800,944 cybercrime complaints. Nevertheless, digital transformation can help resolve the data security problem, so let’s explore how exactly.
One step that enterprises can do to protect their data is implementation of cloud computing. Cloud providers offer a wide range of security features while using cloud computing.
Another step in cybersecurity improvement is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). It’s an electronic authentication method on which a user can access a website or application only after successfully providing two or more proofs of authentication.
Even so, companies should keep up on their privacy by doing these practices:
- Doing courses about cybersecurity for employees
- Always updating software on time
- Checking unauthorized access and all suspicious activity
- Using error detecting systems
How HYS Enterprise Can Help You in Your Digital Transformation Journey
While nowadays digital transformation is so pumped, there’s only one problem left – how to find a perfect team for your digital conversion. Choosing a team is one of the most important steps in any successful outsourcing process. In HYS Enterprise, we help companies to achieve their digital transformation goals. One of our successful cases is Travel Portal. Our partner, a consortium of travel firms, used to handle the majority of their tour bookings over the phone, which was slow and inconvenient. Therefore, they opted for a DT to update their booking management and customer inquiry handling methods. In collaboration with our partner’s development team, we built a fully automated system with features for managing group offers, managing participants, importing participants in bulk, processing payments, sharing documents, laying out and assigning rooms, and providing live support by administrators. If you are ready to start your digital transformation journey with our team of professionals – Let’s discuss your project!