These days, most business transformations are digital transformations — or is it vice versa? Find out about the latest innovations helping organizations advance their capabilities.
Most companies have a strategy or vision for improving operations and products with digital technologies. However, with new innovations hitting the market every day, it’s difficult to know what will actually transform your business and what will simply look good in your annual report. Here are the key technologies that will do the most heavy lifting for digitally optimizing your organization.
1. cloud computing
Cloud adoption has long been considered the first big step in an organization’s digital transformation journey. Now that remote and hybrid work are a mainstay of the post-pandemic world, cloud technology is simply fundamental to the modern working environment. Cloud computing enables organizations to increase employee productivity, enhance communication and collaboration, improve customer experience (CX) and become more agile. Furthermore, cloud-committed organizations are able to more cost efficiently transform and expand digital offerings.
Still, cloud migrations often fail and many organizations wind up moving cloud applications back to their own infrastructure. As such, it’s important to fully understand the challenges of cloud migrations and develop a cloud strategy that fits the organization’s needs, motivations and budget.
2. internet of things (IoT)
Tech analyst company IDC predicts that by 2025 there will be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices. By tapping into this booming trend, businesses can leverage new data to better understand their commercial products and customers. Additionally, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is poised to revolutionize industrial operations. In this case, businesses use sensors, wireless networks, big data, AI and analytics to measure and optimize processes. The technology can also create new revenue streams. For example, a manufacturer can sell predictive maintenance alongside their products.
Organizations that want to invest in the IoT or IIoT as part of their digital transformation strategy should first examine the existing network connectivity. Revisiting your architecture will help you understand your company's readiness to implement IoT solutions.
3. artificial intelligence (AI) and big data
Organizations have spent the past few years collecting huge amounts of information. Now they need to apply data insights to improve customer experiences, business operations and decision-making processes. That’s why a major part of digital transformation relies on AI, especially machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), predictive analytics and deep learning.
Here are some examples of ways AI is being used to drive digital transformation throughout organizations:
- Customer experience — chatbots, personalized recommendations and applications that track, solve and automate customer support processes
- Human resources — assessing job candidates and increasing employee satisfaction
- IT security — detecting and deterring cyber threats
- Business intelligence (BI) and operations — automating processes, detecting anomalies and predicting business outcomes
4. virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR)
By 2030, an estimated 23.5 million jobs will be impacted by VR and AR technologies. These innovations have already been connected to faster job training and higher employee performance. Virtual reality is being used for everything from building empathy in call centers to reducing safety incidents in hazardous working environments.
Another compelling reason to integrate VR and AR technologies into your organization’s digital transformation is the metaverse. This next evolution of the internet is developing quickly and will soon transform how companies do business. Your best bet for gaining a competitive advantage in the metaverse is to start developing a strategy for upskilling your workforce and engaging customers in virtual worlds.
Above all, a successful business and digital transformation is one that can adapt to the ever-evolving tech landscape. Find out how we can help you develop a flexible approach that’s powered by the latest innovations in digital technologies