Modern businesses want to increase their reach to everybody in the world. This is because they are striving to increase their efficiency, and profits. So how can companies achieve this? The solution lies in digital transformation. Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of businesses. It changes the operational ways of an organisation as well. Now we know that digital transformation is necessary for increasing the company’s efficiency. Yet it simply won’t be icing on the cake. Because companies have to face some challenges before enjoying the benefits that digital transformation brings. Today’s article will discuss the major challenges when it comes to digital transformation.
Challenges in Digital Transformation
Successful digital transformation requires the right set of tools. Along with tools, it also requires some expertise, and guidance for ensuring the best results. The world is changing rapidly. And the businesses that don’t respond to these changes fail miserably. The pace of digital transformation is also increasing day by day. As a result, companies face several challenges in their transformation. A brief description of those challenges is given by top UK assignment writers which is as follows;
Organisational Culture
The first challenge in digital transformation is that of organisational culture. The company owners think that digitalisation refers to having modern technology and resources. Yet the reality is different from this misconception. Because simply having modern technology doesn’t make a company digitalised. There’s no doubt that modern tools and technologies are necessary. But an organisation should have the ability to adapt to these new tools. If the company still employs traditional methods, there is no point in getting new technology.
Communication is also very important in this matter. This is the reason as to why the organisational environment should be very friendly. And before switching to a new strategy, solid communication is necessary. Otherwise, the organisation might face resistance from a group of employees. In short, organisational culture holds much importance in its digitalisation aspect.
Lack of IT Resources and Management
Lack of IT resources is the second major challenge that companies face in the midst of digital transformation. Sometimes companies have all the tools and technologies. Yet the one thing that they lack in is proper resource management. IT resources do not include having updated windows in the laptops, and advanced technology only. This aspect also includes having a technologically advanced workforce. The shortage of digital experts also poses a great challenge to a company within this context. Thus, it is essential to take this challenge into consideration. The companies need to employ the best of the best IT people as well. There should also be a manager who can manage the resources effectively.
Lack of Clarity on the Digital Transformation Budget
A thorough capital plan is also necessary for digital transformation. Because lack of clarity on the budget can create many hurdles for the organisations. If companies think they can make successful transformation with a little budget, they’re thinking in the wrong direction. A company has to make an investment in acquiring new technologies, and the hiring of IT professionals. For example, a European insurance company Axa invested €950 Million over just two years for its digitalisation. Therefore, there should be clarity within the budget plan.
Digital Security
Data security is the biggest challenge regarding this domain. This is because the customers of a potential service demand the security of their personal data. Therefore, providing digital security is the main hurdle for digital transformation. Along with digitalisation, cybersecurity is also necessary. Because the number of cybercrimes is increasing day by day due to its dynamic, and fast-changing nature. The latest reports from experts like Forrester and Granter also point out this concern.
For example, when WhatsApp changed its privacy policy last year, many people left this platform. They switched to other similar apps as a result of this change. In the end, WhatsApp has to change its policy again. Thus, data security is the top priority of customers. At the same time, it is a challenge for companies as well.
Opportunities in Digital Transformation
After challenges, we will now discuss some of the opportunities for businesses in this regard. Digital transformation offers countless opportunities, and benefits. A brief description of the opportunities is as follows;
Enhanced Data Collection
Most businesses collect tons of the data pertaining to the customers. After analysing the data, companies collect the trends with regards to customers’ changing habits. The organisations can also get to know the needs of potential buyers more effectively this way. Digital transformation helps in gathering the right data, and incorporating it for business success. Digitalisation also allows the companies to transform gathered data into useful insights. With enhanced data collection, digitalisation also provides data security along with privacy. Customers at times become very serious about the privacy of their data. The use of CRM, and SaaS data encryption techniques can help in this matter.
Stronger Resource Management
Digital transformation improves resource management as well. It consolidates information and resources into a suite of tools for businesses. It integrates applications, databases, and software into a central repository for the aspect of business intelligence. One must remember that digital transformation is not a department within a company. It instead covers all the departments within it. From sales and marketing to finance, every department needs digitalisation. Basically, digitalisation is the conversion of data into digital forms. It is also important to remember that every department of a company has some data. Therefore, it’s important to optimise, and secure data everywhere it flows.
Data-driven Customer Insights
Data is everything. The whole aspect of digital transformation revolves around data. It is the data that helps companies in predicting the customer needs. It unlocks the customer insights about a product as well. For example, a fashion company launched its new kurta. On the official media page of the company, customers will leave their reviews, and comments. These reviews and comments are, in fact, a part of the aforementioned data. The digitalisation team of a business collects the information, and then stores it. They then analyse all the information to obtain customer insights.
Conclusion
All in all, digital transformation is not an easy thing. Because along with modern tools and technologies, it requires IT professionals, and proper resource management. There is no doubt in the opportunities of this transformation. But these opportunities come at the cost of challenges. First, the companies have to go through some challenges. They can then enjoy its benefits after its successful implementation. The challenges, and benefits mentioned here are only the major ones. You can look for others on the internet if you need any more information.
