Thanks to digitization and the introduction of a digital innovation plan in business processes, many repetitive and cumbersome procedures and jobs once carried out by human beings have become automatic and digitized.
This development represents not only an improvement in the convenience of work automation but also an optimization of data management and of the organization in general.
The processes of innovation and digitalization also lead to a reduction in the use of materials and therefore to a reduction in waste. This is the case of document paper replaced by virtual sheets.
Digital innovation in business processes includes all those techniques and tools that can facilitate the work of companies. Not only by streamlining the workload to be done, but also by optimizing the use of human and financial resources.
At the beginning of the spread of this process, the companies most involved were the large ones, however, digital innovation has now become a widespread and accessible process even for smaller companies (this also thanks to the incentives granted to those who wanted to undertake this path) .
What are the advantages of digital innovation?
Digitization is one of the decisive factors that allow the company to increase its efficiency. Here are some reasons that can push a company to take the path towards digitization and innovation:
Greater productivity and fewer errors: the main concepts of innovation are greater efficiency and greater safety. Reducing errors leads to optimizing costs and reducing problems and waste, making the company more virtuous.
New markets and higher turnover: digitization could be one of the decisive factors in the eventuality of an opening to new national or international markets, facilitating the study of products that are already present.
Less bureaucracy and less waste: with digital transformation, offices can benefit from lower costs while maintaining high quality results. Through digital solutions, you can easily lighten the workload of employees by automating certain jobs.
Greater security with Big Data: the collection and analysis of collected data can be crucial for the business, especially as regards the decision-making phase. By transporting collection and analysis on a digital level, the risks of data loss will be considerably reduced by improving orderly and systematic archiving.
Virtual reality between products and marketing: that of virtual reality is an ever-expanding sector, also thanks to the numerous possibilities it offers.
In this historical period, Digital Transformation (DT) dominates the horizon of companies. Many business processes – from customer service to the human resources department – have to face sudden and radical changes in the use of increasingly cutting-edge methodologies.
This in most cases leads to a slowdown in the operational processes and productivity of companies. Costs increase due to the acquisition of the resources necessary for digitization, and their implementation within the company only increases them more and more.
Innovation and Business Processes, Effective Digital Transformation
When we talk about Digital Transformation (DT) what exactly are we referring to?
DT represents a process of realignment and change within the business and its operational processes resulting from the implementation of digital technologies.
This process must be planned and managed upstream, so we are not just talking about an action taken during the investment phase. The change must take place at the level of the business model, re-adapting each environment to productivity and communication that move on a digital level.
Entrepreneurs and managers are aware of how expensive and risky a company rework plan can be.
In addition to these difficulties, human resources issues must also be taken into consideration.
After a successful implementation of the new digital model, the company will have to deal with machinery and equipment that require experienced and competent personnel.
All these factors often cause a delay in the start of the digital transformation process by the company, which could have negative consequences in the loss of competitiveness, customers and new opportunities.
We no longer rely on classic methods of archiving and data protection, today there are systems that guarantee the highest security of all sensitive and important data for the company.
Thanks to the trends introduced by Digital Transformation, workers can thus carry out their work more quickly and systematically.
Trends in Digital Transformation
The digital transformation is dominated by some technologies that will trigger a profound transformation in companies.
The one we hear the most about is 5G , which will touch every sector of our life. The deployment of 5G will not only be about high broadband performance and reliable mobile networks.
The change will lead to the creation of smart cities, intelligent vehicles will accelerate the spread of automation processes, inserting themselves in all sectors. For years we have been talking about smart cities, autonomous drones and connected vehicles, but this technology and Edge Compute are turning it into reality.
In addition, 5G will work together with Wi-Fi 6 to increase processing speed and wireless connection. This improvement will lead to an increase in the use of Wi-Fi, with optimal management of huge volumes of data.
Businesses will also include an analysis system to identify problems, opportunities and solutions. The future of companies lies in knowing how to exploit the enormous amount of data they have, with real-time processing. For this reason, those who do not have a good data management system will remain out of the market.
Thanks to AI and Machine Learning, data processing will become much faster and more reliable. The big advantage of artificial intelligence and machine learning is the ability to analyze huge complex data sets quickly. In fact, the algorithms make very accurate analyzes that can also be used in the cloud.
Remaining in the field of AI, conversational artificial intelligence is also worth keeping an eye on. Many companies are working hard to follow complex conversations and decode the emotional nuances.
Finally, as we know, the success of digital transformation is linked to the user and customer experience (UX / CX). This centrality will be implemented by companies, which will also give increasing importance to respecting the privacy of users.
How to lead the digital transformation
Large companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon are organized in such a way that each business sector is able to respond to customer problems independently.
What does it mean?
That every employee must be involved in handling customer problems. And this can only be achieved with good leadership in digital transformation.
Those who lead the digital transformation must understand who the typical customer of their company is. He must know him in depth, knowing that his needs are the starting point for driving the digital revolution.
In addition to being clear about who the customer is, what their tastes and needs are, a CTO must understand both technology and business. Understanding the market is essential to steer digital transformation in the right direction.
Understanding the customer and the market, therefore, are fundamental requirements for the managers of the future. But a good leader must be able to spread the digital culture within the company, placing the customer at the center of the attention of the whole team.
Digital native companies have a workflow managed by many product managers, who focus their efforts and those of the team they manage around the product and customer needs.
According to Seth, to successfully tackle digital transformation, companies should build a product-based structure organized around customer problems. Taking a cue from digital natives, this involvement of each employee in management would determine success in the digital transformation process.
Data analysis is an essential step to bring companies to market needs and make them competitive with the competition. To ensure a good user experience for your customers, the data they provide to you must be kept with the utmost respect for privacy. Implementing technologies and putting the customer at the center of your business model are key to growing your business.
Are you ready to accept the challenge and start the digital transformation process within your company?
Remember that digital transformation is not synonymous with the digitization of business processes. But it is a cultural phenomenon that must affect all sectors of the organization.
If you want your company to be ready to face the transformation in a winning way, contact me for personalized advice.
Meanwhile, you can learn more about this and other topics of Sales, Marketing and Mindset, directly within my blog. You’ll find indispensable articles, videos, and podcasts for today’s entrepreneurs
We are still clearly behind the European market in terms of digital implementation within companies. However, integrating marketing, customer service and sales processes in different digital channels is necessary in order to keep up with the times and differentiate from the competition.
Fortunately, however, there is a solution to be able to successfully conduct the company’s digital transformation by reducing the risks and costs that it entails: outsourcing.
The outsourcing of business processes is a practical and safe tool to be able to implement the digital innovation necessary to establish itself on the market.
How to conduct innovation in the company: a guiding framework
To achieve the success of a company’s digital transformation, it is necessary to follow a precise roadmap
To do this, it is useful to rely on an external partner who can ensure the company a safe and well-planned path.
Outsourcing business processes that are no longer optimizable by the company that operates them is the best and fastest way to ensure a successful digital transformation. Relying on an expert supplier company in the sector guarantees access to the latest technologies, cutting-edge machinery and equipment, trained and updated staff.
It is also possible to transform the variable and additional costs caused by updating business processes into fixed costs.
Taking an example, in the event that you decide to entrust your customer service activity to a supplier company, you will be able to take advantage of a complete, cutting-edge, flexible service, available in the short term and with a pre-established contractual cost. During a season of peak sales, you may experience the need to increase the number of employees responsible for customer support, leading to slowdowns, additional costs, hiring or otherwise. With a partner for the outsourcing of business processes, however, it will be sufficient to simply adapt the contract to different situations.
This solution allows companies to free up internal resources, which can thus focus on the core business.
Use Method and Strategy to Implement Innovation
Like any radical change within a company, innovation also needs time and resources to be successfully implemented. As already mentioned, one method to deal with it efficiently can be to rely on a partner to delegate the task.
By choosing a reliable and professional company for the outsourcing of the activities to be renewed, the time needed to amortize the costs of the service will be significantly reduced compared to those to be faced in the absence of external support.
The outsourcing of the processes to be innovated, whether they are the entire IT sector or the management of human resources, allows the company that requests the service to avoid heavy variable costs, transforming them into fixed costs.
In addition to this, the partner company will be able to offer an optimized service particularly aimed at achieving the final goal, as it is specialized in that sector.
The outsourcing of business processes is therefore an excellent method to allow a company to exploit its full potential, focusing on the core business.
Conclusion
Digital transformation is an ever-changing process. This change is partly due to the improvement and introduction of new technologies; on the other hand, it is linked to the evolution of society, the market and customer needs.
At this moment, the technological challenges to be faced more immediately are those related to the introduction of 5G and automation.
