As they would measure the return on investment (ROI) for more conventional projects, organisations undergoing transformation often measure the success of their digital initiatives against various business metrics.
There are several overarching benefits of digital transformation, all interrelated and interdependent, experts said, even though ROI for digital transformation programs will vary from program to program and enterprise to enterprise.
1. Productivity and efficiency increased
The use of digital technologies accelerates processes and streamlines operations, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity.Robotic process automation, for instance, is capable of outperforming humans in multiple ways. IBM showed off bots that performed tasks 20 times faster than humans, and they rarely make mistakes. The speed and accuracy with which data analytics software collects and analyses data is unmatched by humans. As a result of this analysis, workers are able to make quicker decisions than they would be able to without advanced technologies.
2. Managing resources more effectively
In order to achieve transformation, companies are replacing legacy systems serving individual business units with modern IT architectures designed to consolidate processes and enable seamless data flow between departments. CIOs and other executives have been able to eliminate duplicate and superfluous technologies, and associated costs, using this end-to-end digital technology approach, experts said. As a result, organisations can optimise their technology spending by providing the amount of computing power they need at any given moment, rather than paying for excess capacity just for rare spikes in demand.
3. Resilience is increased
Adapting quickly to changing market forces, even dramatic social and economic upheavals like COVID-19, is easier for organisations that embrace digital technologies and build a digital culture. Normally occurring business fluctuations, as well as unusual and once-in-a-lifetime disruptions, can be better weathered by companies, nonprofit organisations and other organisations. In addition, cloud computing, in particular, provides built-in redundancies and elasticity that further enhance organisational resilience.Digital transformation has helped most executives build a more resilient enterprise, but many now value these technologies more after 2020, according to The Hackett Group’s Pastore.As he noted, “resiliency was not so huge before, but it has become the most important now.”
4. Agility is increased
Digitally savvy enterprises are able to capitalise on change instead of just reacting to it, Pastore said. Digitally mature organisations, for instance, can rapidly scale up or down based on changing needs because they rely heavily on cloud computing. Meanwhile, modern software development methodologies, such as DevOps and Agile, allow teams to collaborate more effectively and rapidly develop and deploy new features and functions to satisfy market demands as quickly as possible. Almost twice as many executives at digitally mature companies are confident that they can reallocate resources quickly to meet changing needs than those whose organisations are behind on digital transformation, according to the Workday survey “Organisational Agility at Scale: The Key to Driving Digital Growth.”
5. Engaged customers better
“It allows businesses to develop a more intimate relationship with their customers by collecting, storing, and analysing customer data.” Digital technologies are enabling companies to gain a deeper understanding of each customer.Through data analysis and artificial intelligence, companies can gain greater insight into their customers’ preferences and needs, allowing them to create and offer personalised products and services.
6. Responsiveness improved
Digitally transformed organisations are better able to anticipate changing customer requirements and changing market dynamics because they have improved customer engagement initiatives.
7. Innovating more
Businesses across all industries are creating new products and services as a result of digitalization. Contractors and customers can now be matched online by tool companies. Virtual on-demand exercise instruction is now available on personal gym equipment. A retailer offers curated fashions for rent that are customised to each customer’s preferences. Binns explained that digital technology allows companies to innovate better and create new niches. Even legacy firms are creating new businesses that go beyond their core competencies, even though Amazon and Google get all the attention.
8. Improved time-to-market
Product life cycles can be shortened as a result of digital transformation, according to experts. The importance of this is particularly evident in industries where development costs are high. According to Binns, the cost of ‘taping out’ a new semiconductor could be as high as $1 million. This is an extremely high standard to pass before a product goes into production. It also delays the development of products that use those components. If you can accomplish all this in virtual reality, the time to market will be drastically shortened. The economics of entire industries could be reshaped by this in the next decade.