As organizations move full throttle into enhancing internal and external business outcomes the term, 'Digital transformation' has gained supreme status into the tech lexicon. Digital transformation has become an important strategy for organizations for years and is predicted to be a crucial factor in the competition of who remains in the business.

The term digital transformation is defined as the integration of digital technology into all areas of the business, fundamentally changing how it operates and delivers value to its customers. Digital transformation is also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure even if that happens.

Research analysts believe that when it comes to a timeframe, 85% of key decision makers feel they have only 2 years to get to grips with digital transformation. So, while the past few years have seen some movement in digital transformation, there's now an urgency, as time becomes the new benchmark of which businesses stay in the race and which ones drop out.

Important Change for every Business

Digital transformation has become very important for each and every business, from the small to the enterprise. This is widely accepted with the increasing number of panel discussion, articles, and published studies related to how businesses can remain relevant as the operations and jobs become increasingly digital. Many business leaders are still not clear with what digital transformation brings to the table, while many believe that it is all about the business moving to the cloud. Many in the C-Suite are still in two minds of the changes what they have to take into their strategies and forward way of thinking. Many believe that whether they should be hiring an external agency into change implementation is good while many still question about the costs involved in the process.

As every organisation is different, so are their digital transformation requirements. However, in general terms, it is broadly defined as what change and value addition it can bring to customers in real tangible terms. Digital transformation has a long legacy and extends much beyond 2019. It is a change which requires organizations to experiment often, get comfortable with failure and continually challenge the status quo. It also means that companies have to move beyond the age-old processes and look out for new challenges and changes.

Here is what the essence of Digital Transformation brings to the table-

•  Customer experience

•  Culture and leadership

•  Digital technology integration

•  Operational Agility

•  Workforce enablement

Digital transformation is predominantly used in a business context, bringing change into the organisational structure, impacting governments, public sector agencies and enterprises which are involved in tackling societal challenges such as tracking pollution, the sustenance levels and so on by leveraging one or more of these existing and emerging technologies.

2019 and Beyond

As digital transformation strategies mature, and its status as an innovation driver becomes a new standard, leading IT professionals are asking – what's next? If the lesson of the last decade was the power of digital flexibility and how it can create a more efficient and productive workforce.

Today's businesses are as diverse as the customers they serve. From the cloud-native startup to the legacy enterprise, as companies have embraced the value of digital flexibility, an overwhelming majority have embarked on digital transformation journeys. One critical aspect of the approach to digital transformation is that IT departments are increasingly expected to take a greater role in driving overall business goals.

As technology becomes more advanced, the human element becomes increasingly vital. The digital transformation saw a seismic shift in the way IT leaders approach their infrastructure, but workplace transformation requires a deep understanding of the unique way's individuals approach productivity.

In a crux, many companies have begun their journey, and have started making changes in their strategies, on large digital programs in recent years adapting to AI initiatives and modern technologies. In most cases, it is just a humble beginning and a lot more needs to be achieved.

Technologies are evolving and changing, challenging the fundamental strategic and operational processes that have defined organisations till now. In the times to come, enterprises will no longer have separate digital and AI strategies, but instead will have to integrate corporate strategies deeply infused with changing technologies.