Embracing the Digital Transformation Revolution

There is no denying that the era of digital innovation is upon us. But what exactly is it? This phenomena is roughly defined as “increasing applications of digital technology into the various fields of business and enterprise”*. Not only does it boost the efficiency of a company overall, but increases the scope and reach of services and client acquisition. Some examples include lightening fast browsing speeds, easy to use interfaces, and huge storage capacities. But not all firms are jumping aboard the virtual bandwagon, and refusing to modify strategy is a fatal mistake made by any franchise.

This so called ‘new age Industrial Revolution’ is not a small one either. According to a recent report on the 2015 DEI index, nearly 56% of UK organisations have been reported to switch to newer operating systems in the past 12 months. Of these 56% recorded, 85% said they had already observed benefits such as increases in revenues and customer engagement. Furthermore, those who invest in Digital Transformation receive approximately 2.5x greater revenue in one working working year.

In order to ride this wave businesses must embrace the movement with open arms, by implementing change into every aspect of their strategy. But how? The answer is simply upgrading processing systems and modernising online platforms. However, like most efforts to expand and modernise, digital-transformation is often met by barriers to entry. Some of these include a rigid company culture, lack of expertise, cost of renovating current infrastructure, and red tape surrounding regulation.

Another inhibitor of this technological shift is CFO inexperience. In accordance with a recent study**, only 50% of CFO’s have market Digital Transformation as a high priority in the next few years. And only 49% think it will be play a crucial factor. It is clear that Digital Transformation is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the enterprise market today, and it is even more clear that anyone who does not take advantage now will surely play catch up.

* “The Digital Transformation of Business”, Harvard Business Review (2015), pg 8

** EY’s Capital Confidence Barometer, October (2015)