How does ‘Digital Transformation’ actually help your business?

Are there any areas of business that haven’t been impacted by new technology?

Whether it’s making processes more efficient with automation, improving collaboration and communication with cloud and SaaS, or using data and analytics to get better insights into customer behaviour or inform decisions – the benefits of digital transformation are far-reaching and can affect any business in any industry. If you’re still unsure about how using new technology can help, keep on reading.

Benefits of Digital Transformation

Make Better Decisions Driven by Data

From insights into customer behaviour to business performance to market conditions, there’s an abundance of data for businesses to use to make better decisions.

Big data analytics is a big part of digital transformation projects, allowing organisations to pull swathes of data from every part of the business into one place where it can be analysed instantly.

This new focus on data driven decision making ensures leaders are acting based on evidence, rather than simply using gut reaction or a best guess.

Now everything from product development, the customer experience, employee engagement and even entry into new markets can be analysed before decisions are made.

And with the emergence of intelligent data analytics using AI and machine learning, decisions are being made even faster. With these newer technologies, coupled with an ever growing pool of data, companies are able to uncover trends and make accurate predictions of future trends in order to make decisions and adjustments on strategies before any challenges emerge.

Greater Communication and Collaboration

Communication and collaboration have historically relied on in-person meetings and employees being in the same location.

With a reliance on static technology like fixed phone lines and desktops, it was almost impossible for collaboration to happen with employees in different locations.

Until a few years ago this wasn’t necessarily a big issue, but today it simply doesn’t work.

With more teams spread out across different locations – even across borders – communication and collaboration needs to be possible, no matter where employees are working from.

Collaboration was particularly problematic in this outdated business model.

Only one employee could work on a project at any one time. One person would work on a document on their laptop, save changes and hand it over to the next person to work on.

Not only was this highly inefficient (with employees sat waiting for their turn to start work) it also made version controls incredibly difficult.

All it took was one missed edit or email and the document or project was out of date, with no audit trail of when the mistake was made.

Moving to the cloud changes all of this

By putting systems in the cloud, employees can simultaneously access and work on projects together regardless of where they are working.

Automatic audit trails and edits histories are created automatically to show who last made edits to a project and what edits were made.

The rise of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) took this a step further.

It provides access to an entire communication network (phone, text, video, data and file sharing) in one system – rather than requiring teams to jump between platforms.

Improving the Customer’s Experience

With so much competition in the market, customers have more choice than ever between businesses selling many of the same products or services.

Products are no longer a differentiator. Instead the customer experience has become the thing companies now compete on.

And there are real commercial benefits to providing a better experience to customers, with 58% saying they’re willing to pay more for the same product if they know they’ll get a better experience.

There’s a lot that goes into the customer experience, and personalisation is a major part of this today.

Getting the basics right still goes a long way – like being available when customers try to contact you.

Omnichannel support, like that provided through CCaaS (Contact Centre as a Service) can be a real game changer.

Advanced call features like automatic or smart call routing can help you to prioritise callers based on their specific needs.

This places “high-priority customers” closer to the front of the queue, ensuring their needs are dealt with first.

It creates a platform where every channel a customer might need to contact you or find information is in one place and can be managed from a single platform.

Meaning you can offer support in various ways, without needing to manage multiple systems.

It also tracks customer engagements, so you can more accurately analyse the customer journey and improve their experience.

Financial benefits

Successful digital transformation proves to be a money-saving and money-generating move.

Yes, businesses need to spend money upfront to bring new technology into the business, but this money will be returned when the effects of digital transformation begin to be felt.

But you could save money a lot faster than you think. For example, if your business was to use UCaaS systems, it would eliminate the need for separate services instantly.

That means you could cancel multiple costly subscriptions, instead of paying a single, simple monthly fee to your new provider.

Businesses that invest in an integrated unified communications and contact centre solution see a nearly 100% revenue improvement for the areas affected by the integration, according to research firm Metrigy.

So there’s a lot of potential to improve your financial position using UCaaS.

Create a More Agile Business

Being able to make snap decisions and shift to changes is an important trait of an adaptable business.

If you want your business to survive in the modern competitive landscape, you need to do everything you can to make your business an agile one.

By onboarding the technologies present in digital transformation, businesses are arming themselves with the tools that give them the best chance of beating the competition.

For example, businesses that work using cloud technology, rather than restricting themselves to on-premise tech have the capability to work from anywhere with the right device and an internet connection.

This creates more opportunities to still be productive while working from home, or taking care of important business matters while away from the office.

Plus, data analytics powered by AI can help businesses make predictions about future market changes or sales outcomes, well in advance, so they can make changes to their business model, and the direction of their marketing or make alterations in their productions.

Creates a Better Culture

Employees are happiest when they feel empowered by changes in the workplace, not pushed down by them. Digital transformation can help create a culture where employees feel valued and empowered to try new things and explore new ways of working.

92% of workers say employers should use technology to improve their wellbeing, according to a study commissioned by Salesforce.

This isn’t the case with companies who are still using legacy systems, because they’re trapped in a very “one-way-works-best” mindset where nothing new is ever attempted.

This results in employees feeling as though they’re grinding through their day, rather than actually enjoying their work, as they would do thanks to the new technology provided through digital transformation.

Through utilising new technology, you may have also removed a lot of the monotonous work your team is used to with automation, meaning they’re free to focus on more interesting work that adds value to the business.

A willingness to invest in new technologies is also an attractive quality of people seeking work, meaning your digital transformation could lead you to recruit better talent.

Are you considering a digital transformation for your business?

Given all the advantages digital transformation can bring, it’s no surprise countless businesses are trying to remove outdated systems and replace them with digital solutions. Now that you’re aware of the advantages of digital transformation, as well as some of the specific technologies involved, you’re in an excellent position to begin making a much-needed change within your business and alter your operations for the better.