Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation

Introduction

Digital transformation is the use of technology by the enterprises for their core functional areas in order to improve their performance. Executives, these days, are in search of applying the most effective and advanced means of digital technologies for their business processes and functions. Some of these means of technological advances include the use of social media, smart embedded devices, mobility, and analytics. The executives also remain in the quest to improve their use of traditional technologies, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which helps them in enhancing their relationship with their customers, and also improve their internal processes (MITSloan Management Review, 2012).

The successful digital transformation does not only mean the implementation of latest technologies by the organizations, but it also means to transform the organization in such a way that it must take benefit from the opportunities provided by these advanced technologies. The major types of digital transformation initiatives that an organization can take include customer experience, restructuring, re-envisioning, business models, and operational processes (Patel and McCarthy, 2000).

One on hand, the companies can be benefited by the initiatives of digital transformation; however, the transformation can also pose some challenges for the organization. These challenges range from the starting point where people resist adopting the transformation to the point of its implementation.

Challenges

Resistant to Change

The executives of the companies, to a large extent, face the challenge of their customers being resistant to change. The companies feel immense pressure while deciding on the issue whether to implement such changes to the organization, and that what changes it might bring to the organization. They also feel concerned about the impact of such changes to their customers that whether the customers will accept such changes or not, or if it will unsettle them about the practices of the organization.

Customer's Loss of Trust

The digital transformation can lead to the satisfaction level of the customer drop drastically from the topmost position to the bottom. The customers can feel that the company has not lived up to their expectation by implementing the change. This can often be the case with the healthcare and financial service organizations. The top priority for these sectors is to keep the confidentiality of their customer's data, and their customers trust them in doing so. However, with the implementation of digitally enhanced technologies, the risk of data being hacked also gets higher, as the devices in which such confidential data might be stored can easily be accessed by the hackers. The lost of information will surely make customers feel susceptible about the leakage of their confidential data and the ability of the organization (Westerman, et. al, 2011).

Unclear Vision

The other challenge that company mainly faces while making transformations in their business is the unclear vision of the company about the changes being made. The companies typically implement the transformation just for the sack of competition, or to get themselves out of severe problems, but actually this is the case where they go wrong. They just want to implement the ...