It's easy to fool ourselves into thinking a new mobile app, or doing a few things 'digitally' makes for a successful digital transformation but those simple adjustments to work better in a digital world is not the answer. Digital transformation is much bigger. Here we share a few ways your company can journey to an authentic digital transformation bringing increased effectiveness and industry leading practices to your organization.

Digital Transformation is Digital Business

The process of exploiting digital technologies and supporting capabilities to create a robust NEW digital business model is digital transformation."

- Gartner

What we know is that digital transformation is not just about going digital in processes or engagement. Digital transformation is building a "robust NEW digital business model" that can touch almost any facet of a business. Digital business is the overall theme of how the lines are being blurred between the physical and virtual worlds that govern business markets, designs, industries, and organizations like yours.

Digital transformation requires a hard look at every aspect of your organization and your long-term strategy. While building a vision may be a tough first step it's just the beginning. Unless adoption occurs at every level, digital business grinds to a halt. This stopping point will translate to lost revenues, lost efficiency, reduced employee loyalty, and eventually, the movement toward obsolescence.

Top Five Platforms for Digital Transformation

Information Systems
IoT - Internet of Things
Data and Analytics
Customer Experience
Employee Experience

These platforms, inherent to your organization MUST connect and become a part of wider digital ecosystems in society. From tracking processes to packages, real time information, and real time decisions that have immediate measurable impact are the results of a digital transformation.

Artificial Intelligence is at the center of a digital transformation so check out this AI Guide to Changing Business to understand AI for your company.

Digitize Workflows for Digital Transformation

All companies utilize processes or workflows, some good and some not so good, to get work done. From Human Resources, Accounting, Sales, Operations, and so much more. Workflows are how business gets done. ServiceNow has changed the game for us all to move past spreadsheets, emails, and dare we say, post-it notes to the modern age of process management.

Make Work, Work Better"

-ServiceNow

ServiceNow's Now Platform was crowned the "leader" in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management. This is 5th year in a row ServiceNow has received this recognition which goes further than a validation, but altogether confirms the Now Platform is changing how business gets done. This service management that includes the movement to digitize workflows is a central component of any company's digital transformation. The great thing for us all is ServiceNow goes beyond IT and supports a broad range of digitized workflows so with just a little effort, digital transformation can be a reality for our businesses.

The great thing about ServiceNow is it does'nt have to stop there. You can easily build custom use cases for your business or simply check out the ServiceNow app store to see if what you need has already been built. There are many diverse use cases you can find that can move your organization into a deeper digital transformation like a ServiceNow chatbot or an easy to adapt Expense tracking and management app. Learn more how to navigate the ServiceNow app store and various other FAQs to help you on your journey of digital transformation.

Digital Transformation IS Changing YOUR Industry

While it's easy to dismiss that your company or the industry you reside in will never really be part of the digital transformation age you may want to reconsider that approach. There is a ever-growing list of companies that have dissipated due to a lack of focus on the impact of digital transformation. You may have heard of a few of those companies that disrupted their industries leaving many companies in the dust.

Amazon (think book stores, retail)
Airbnb (think hotels, home rental)
Netflix (movies and entertainment)
Uber (travel, transportation, taxi service)

Of course you know if Amazon, Netfliz and the like, but what about the ones you didn't know about, businesses that are living their digital transformation journey today. This list may surprise you and includes Kaiser Permanente (managed care), GE (manufacturing and consumer goods), John Deere (manufacturer), Dominos (more than pizza!), AIG (insurance), and many more. Check out this list and further details to gain insights in this TechRepublic article, 10 companies that are spearheading digital transformation in their industry.

Digital Transformation Advisory Services

At V-Soft Consulting, advising clients on how they can further their digital transformation has become a big part of our business. Clients get the benefit of a diverse team of emerging tech team members along with practice heads including Artificial Intelligence to build a transformative plan with your internal staff. Our clients gain the vision of what other companies are doing, practical experience, and a new set of eyes on your internal digital business journey to confirm or adjust your path. Send us an email to digitaltransformation@vsoftconsulting.com and let us know if you'd like to chat about how we can support you on your digital business journey.

Where is your company's digital transformation journey taking you?