Written By Dattatri Radhakrishna, VP of Engineering · Whatfix
Although digital transformation has been on organisations’ playbooks for some time now, the effects of the epidemic will make it a business must-have in 2022. In fact, IDC predicts that more than half of all investments in information and communications technology (ICT) by 2024 will be connected to digital transformation. Businesses that have mastered the new technologies have already transformed our lives, including the way we work, the way we communicate, the way we shop, the way we play, the way we read, how we entertain ourselves, in short, how we live. There is no turning back. It is now or never.
We live in uncertain times. To accommodate the unpredictability of the new world, businesses must rewrite their business operations and plans. Keeping an eye on the changes in the industry where a company operates and adopting strategies to reach the company’s digital goals is now essential for any business. This opens up a whole new avenue for growth. With changing customer needs and competitive threats, companies no longer have time and resources to devote to long product development cycles. It is critical for businesses to predict and prepare for the next big disruption, in order to remain relevant to their customers.
Preparing for digital disruption in 2022
A recent Deloitte survey found that three-quarters of executives expect more changes in the next five years than there were in the past five years. Organizations will experience more change as they become more open and willing to make the changes they need to keep up with the competition. The question now is how companies can best prepare for digital disruption by 2022, and what are the key ways to do that? Here are six ways you can prepare.
- Understand the disruption and identify the gaps: To understand the disruption and why it is happening, and to take action before it affects us, we need to understand its causes and why it is happening. Find patterns where there is pain and figure out where your business has digital gaps. Companies cannot survive in the long run without re-inventing and pivoting. Business leaders need to identify the gaps within their organizations in order to make judicious decisions that will lead to a better future for the company
- Embrace the cultural shifts and move to the Cloud: As the ecosystem changes, a successful business will evolve and change. Holding on to the past is the biggest danger for a company. Using legacy systems gives the illusion of comfort since users are familiar with them and know how to use them. But disruption forces us to adapt to new technologies. Wherever applicable, move the legacy systems from on-premise to Cloud.
- Change the way training is delivered: Adapting to new technologies comes with its own set of challenges. When employees are not properly trained and guided with new technologies, it costs the company considerably in time and resources, eventually resulting in organizations losing business opportunities. With the use of a digital adoption platform, you can provide the necessary training for better adoption of the new technologies. DAPs helps you identify gaps in your company’s applications and guides users in completing their tasks without the hassle of offline training.
- Utilize data analytics more effectively: Almost all companies possess a wealth of data, but without effectively mining it & identifying the right insights, it will remain useless. Identifying relevant insights from this data can help you to make actionable recommendations to close the gaps.
- Evolve incrementally, but keep evolving: If disruption is on the horizon, start preparing for it and implement the changes needed to be ready. First-movers will benefit from these changes and have a better chance of outgrowing their competitors. Utilize DAP solutions to communicate the changes and to train employees so that they can handle them better.
- Onboard your employees effectively: You can implement all the changes needed to succeed, but if your onboarding strategy is inadequate, then you are setting yourself up for failure. The traditional onboarding methods are ineffective due to their time and effort intensive nature and incapability to measure properly. By providing in-app, contextual guidance to help employees complete tasks, a Digital Adoption Platform helps you onboard employees faster.
Navigating a New Age of Digital Disruption in India
Digital disruption will play a crucial role in India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. The pandemic has contributed greatly to the digital drive across industries, and India has not been an exception. People have a taste of hybrid work and their buying experiences are becoming increasingly digital and personalized. With businesses grappling with the magnitude of this disruption, technology is becoming the savior for a variety of expectations.
In India, for instance, contactless interactions are booming and FinTech is undergoing a huge revolution. KYC (Know Your Customer) is becoming a digital process. Innovative digital solutions are being developed by banks to meet the changing needs of customers. Furthermore, banks and websites are also delivering services through chatbots and virtual agents. Additionally, automation is reducing dependency on humans in various industries. Sensor-based technology and IOT devices are being used extensively to reduce the need for people on shop floors. And fast prototyping and innovation are being boosted by 3D printing. We will soon witness companies leveraging the power of data by using AI to mine for insights and respond to the customers’ changing needs in a dynamic manner. With that in mind, 2022 will be the year when the main focus of the tech industry will be on creating technological breakthroughs that will simplify and secure our lives in every aspect.