The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated the adoption of digital technology and automation.

There is no wonder that digital transformation has taken the world by storm. In recent years, it has garnered a lot of interest from diverse industry leaders, enabling them to make a digital journey. A large number of IT and marketing leaders these days are growing up with the proliferation of the Internet and smart devices for almost everything. With the outbreak of COVID-19, digital transformation has become integral for every type of business to stay competitive and resilient. The pandemic has changed the way global businesses function.

From the emergence of contact tracing technology to remote medical diagnosis, contactless payment systems to cashless payments and virtual meetings to remote working, all are driven by and credited to the outbreak. It is no surprise that the number of companies adopting digital technologies is surging day by day. And the COVID-19 has accelerated this number at an unprecedented rate. As a rapidly evolving business term, digital transformation is an iterative process that will continue to be defined and cultivated as businesses go, enhancing their workflows, culture, and customer experiences.

Staying Ahead of Digital Reality

As the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a humanitarian crisis and put every business at standstill, by acting early and being bold and decisive, companies can make their digital transformation endeavour and reach the next new normal anytime soon. Further, with persistent focus on the outcomes, new working patterns, and being digital and technology savvy, companies can accomplish new digital reality, significantly outpacing digital laggards.

They will be able to spark innovation, efficiency and growth, and have better visibility and understanding of their businesses. This will enable business leaders to address rapidly changing ecosystems and fundamentally make them more resilient. Moreover, the challenging economic outlook and continual uncertainty caused by COVID-19 are compelling organizations to take pivotal action to ensure they will be stronger when the crisis gets over.

However, succeeding in the digital world requires digital thinking and mindset. Along with, customer-centric approach, using multiple sources of data, considering agility, and continuous effort will also assist companies to achieve digital reality.

According to a KPMG blog, while establishing your digital strategy, you can define your transformation imperative and answer the following questions: What are your strategic priorities? What are the main objectives and drivers of customer experience? and How do you compare with competitors and best practices? Subsequently, you will be able to identify what to transform and which technologies will enable your transformation by defining your digital architecture.

In order to decide what to transform and define the best operating model, you will need to answer questions like: What are my clients’ needs, behaviors and expectations? How do my clients interact with my organization? And How should my omni-channel operating model work? Afterward, you will define which technologies and technological components will be the best for delivering the service your clients expect.

Most companies these days are still not as data-driven, customer-focused, and agile as they need to be. They have not yet fully integrated advanced analytics and digital technology like AI and machine learning as critical capabilities for adapting to new digital trends. Thus, to remain competitive and agile for the new normal, they must have long-term goals in place and strategies to embrace advanced technologies that can help them drive digital transformation.