What is digital transformation? Why is it necessary to change now?

Digital Transformation is a fundamental change in an organization's approach when building its business value. Here are the essential requirements of digital transformation that you need to learn to build a business today in the digital era.

Digital transformation has been a key strategic initiative and has taken on increased importance in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

59% of 373 IT consultants say pressures stemming from the pandemic are driving their digital transformation efforts, according to a survey on the business impact of IDG Research was carried out in July.

Furthermore, despite budget concerns due to the COVID-19 outbreak, global spending on digital transformation technologies and services will increased by 10.4% in 2020 up 1.3 trillion USD, theo data researcher IDC announced in May . IDC analyst Craig Simpson said that spending on digital tools is not affected as much as other types of technology because most large-scale projects being implemented are tools that serve broader business strategies.

Digital transformation is often seen as a compilation of modern tools and processes used to solve business problems and satisfy customers (for your business). But many CIOs (Chief Information Officer) use different means to execute on their programs. This is also the time when leading experts delve deeper into digital transformation and give advice to IT leaders at Enterprises to quickly embark on the digital transformation process.

# DEFINITION OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION – DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

George Westerman, principal research scientist at MIT and author of the book Leading Digital: Turning technology into business transformation said, digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organization that uses technology, people and processes to change the most fundamental changes in kinh doanh .

On the ideal of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), in partnership with the CIO, CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) and other senior leaders, digital transformation requires cross-departmental collaboration in combining business-focused management philosophies with rapid application development model.

Such sweeping changes are often made in pursuit of new business models and new revenue streams, driven by changes in customer expectations of products and services.

Westerman said: “Customer expectations go beyond what you can actually do.  That means you have to completely rethink how to apply IT to business management processes.”

# FACTORS AFFECTING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Over the past few years, companies have embarked on digital transformation journeys to combat the risk  work disruption from case studies of previous companies and startups .

For example: Retailers will respond to Amazon algorithms to determine their logistics, which will help items from food to beauty reach local stores quickly – before they run out of stock. To ensure that goods are continuously circulated, retailers will stock more goods (last – mil: this phrase often appears in O2O – New Retail)

The pandemic has forced technology leaders and directors realign the strategic IT development roadmaps within the enterprise, along with the beginning of many people using cloud software (Cloud) to collaborate on video production (Co-op) and also building applications to manage social distancing and protection requirements for employees working in the office.

Very simple tasks but supported by complex implementation methods involving machine learning software (Machine Learning) help businesses find solutions for supply chains disrupted by the shift to an electronic commerce (E-Commerce) model.

Such implementation does not facilitate digital transformation. Instead, the way different tools and solutions are intertwined within a business will present a clearer picture of companies' IT applications – and thereby reflect the priority of digital transformation in each company's business model.

# Examples of applying digital transformation in businesses

# Case 1:

Work Prudential Financial Acquired Assurance IQ in 2019 signals an interest in meeting consumer preferences in interacting with brands through digital channels (Digital Marketing). The Insurance model suggests products that are relevant to buyers: life, health, Medicare and auto insurance, giving them the options to purchase products online or with the help of a live agent. 

CIO Stacey Goodman said that to support Prudential's digital transformation strategy, the company's engineers leveraged agile processes and DevOps, collaborating with cross-functional teams including product managers, analysts and key sales personnel. Employees are increasing their self-service capabilities to “test and learn on their own, bounce back from failures quickly, and reinforce their work ethic” as they build new applications. Working engineers rely heavily on Microsoft Teams and other tools to co-write application source code and other aspects of their work.

DevOps is a work culture that promotes collaboration, bringing the two stages of development (development) and operations (operations) closer together.

While Prudential's hybrid model of data-center operations and cloud computing remains strong in the face of the Covid pandemic – through employees being able to operate transactions from home – Goodman's goals also include accelerating time-to-market for new software products, which would ideally improve the experience for customers and employees.

“We want to keep up with that so we can meet the market,” said Goodman, adding that she wants to improve mobile capabilities as Prudential continues to support a hybrid model, allowing people to work in the office and remotely during the pandemic.

# Case 2:

Staying innovating with the market has been paramount for Julie Averill since she joined Lululemon as CTO in 2017. Averill, who has launched several international websites and mobile apps since joining the clothing retailer, said she is moving most computing functions to Microsoft Azure to “providing more flexibility for our guests. Mobility is a key focus, as Lululemon strives to allow customers to search its product inventory from their smartphones,” Averill said.

Averill said: “We are driving our growth through product innovation and improving guest experiences in key markets around the world.“.

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Watch: USEFUL TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS IN THE PERIOD OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION!