By: Burns Puzon, QuickReach Head of Marketing and Sales
The Case for Digital Transformation
Resilience can be defined as the ability to recover readily from adversity. As we’re all well aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all aspects of life. And so we ask: How can a company bounce back from losing at least 2 months of business because of community quarantines/ lockdowns?
As discussed in the previous article, going back to pre-pandemic “normal” is nowhere in sight, and that we must all embrace the new normal both from the customer side as well as from the operational side. It also mentioned that the only way companies can emerge stronger than ever from this strange time in history is to digitally transform.
Businesses going digital is not a new thing. Digitization and digitalization have been applied by companies all over the world for decades now.
Digital transformation has had a bad reputation as a buzzword that has no true meaning. This may stem from many business leaders attempting at DX but creating little or no business value in the end.
But it’s only in the past couple of years where we see clarity in what digital transformation truly means.
It simply means creating great customer & employee experiences, leveraging on digital technologies.
It’s a great shift from looking at human-machine interactions from a systems perspective (as with creating systems architecture diagrams) to a customer-centric perspective.
How your internal processes and systems should operate is no longer your company’s call – it’s your customer’s call now.
Going digital aligns perfectly with the changing times, from the need to reach customers online, to the need to adapt to remote work arrangements, to the need to minimize physical contact at the workplace.
Now we go to the next question: how does one go about it?
The DX Divide
Mid-sized companies are at a disadvantage. They find Digital Transformation more challenging because of the lack of solutions out there that address their needs.
Although they have some budget for technology, on one hand, enterprise-grade solutions are way too expensive and too complex that they even need consultants to help implement. On the other hand, they easily outgrow platforms and free software made for smaller companies.
Because mid-sized companies have a sizeable number of employees, their operations are not as malleable. Therefore, they demand for customization or configuration to fit systems with their processes as well as the need to integrate with various core systems like accounting.
The other option, ground-up software development, is also problematic because it’s too expensive, it takes forever, and hiring an internal team is equally costly and difficult.
Design Thinking-led Digital Transformation Framework
Companies have to put the pedal to the metal in terms of using digital transformation to thrive in the new normal.
The stakes have never been higher, but there’s hope. Before we go to how you can ensure a successful transformation, let’s do a refresher: digital transformation is not about using cutting-edge technology, nor is it solely about driving internal efficiency.
It’s about using technology to bring to life seamless, convenient, transparent, and (most importantly) relevant experiences for customers and employees alike.
We’ve developed a framework to help companies achieve just that. This 6-step process can be divided in three major phases, which will be discussed in the next articles.
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