What is digital transformation?
Digital transformationis the creation of new business methods and techniques made possible by technology. The first wave of business transformation, known as digitisation, occurred as paper records and procedures were replicated on computers. A filing cabinet became a digital file. The rolodex became customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Digital transformation means going beyond replicating old procedures with new technology, and changing the way you do business to benefit from the enormous power and flexibility of modern software and computing infrastructure. Instead of doing things the old way with new tools, you do entirely new things that were previously impossible.
Digital transformation strategy
Your digital transformation begins with a strategic goal: to overhaul a particular part of your business, such as marketing communications, to take advantage of digital capacities that have opened up. You should build a digital transformation roadmap with well-defined incremental steps pointing towards an overall goal, like having marketing touchpoints become 70% digital within a year. In this example, you might proceed by replacing mailing campaigns with email campaigns, billboard ads with Google Ads campaigns and call centres with online chats.
The shape of your digital transformation solutions will vary according to your strategic goal, the part of the business you’re overhauling and the available technologies you can bring onboard.