The world has gone digital, and companies of all shapes and sizes need to evolve with it.
Today, 87% of decision-makers believe that digital transformation is a significant strategic channel for their company. The right digital strategy can allow you to access new productivity and efficiency from your workforce, create happier customers, and develop better products. However, digital transformation also relies on a company’s ability to change, adapt, and overcome countless challenges.
A digital transformation strategy, just like any significant business chance, requires careful planning and implementation to be successful. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to overcome the challenges of digital transformation.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is the idea that adopting new technologies can help businesses to solve problems faster, accomplish new things, and deliver better results. A digital transformation strategy affects every level of your business, from the way that you communicate and collaborate to how you analyze and measure your performance over time.
Digital transformations require businesses to explore the potential and benefits of new technology, from unified communications as a service to AI, and IoT.
Digital Transformation Challenges
So, what are the challenges of digital transformation? Let’s review some of the most critical ones.
Constantly Evolving Customer Expectations
Today’s customers value the experiences that they have with brands above all else. Most companies believe that by this time next year, customer service will be the right way to differentiate themselves from their competitors. However, being able to serve customers using the methods that suit them isn’t easy. Clients are continually adopting new technologies and platforms as part of their journey, which means that today’s contact centers and business teams have a hard time keeping up.
Cloud communication solutions like contact center as a service can provide a resolution to this ever-changing demand. By accessing contact center tools through the cloud, companies can ensure that they’re always ready to adapt and enhance their omnichannel strategies.
Resistance to Change
People rarely respond well to change. We feel more comfortable using the services and solutions that we feel familiar with – the things that we’ve grown used to over the years. However, digital transformation means that at least some change will be necessary for your organization. The best thing you can do to eliminate this issue is to make your team members feel as comfortable as possible.
Explain why it’s beneficial to embrace unified communications tools so that they can stop wasting time jumping between apps. Show them the advantages of new ways of working and remember to give them access to old tools too. Cloud-based communication solutions that integrate with the apps and solutions your teams already use will be much easier for team members to adopt. You can even consider giving employees more freedom by embracing BYOD solutions that allow them to use their own devices at work.
Siloed Analytics
For any business evolution to be effective, companies need to be able to track the performance and outcomes of their initiatives. Unfortunately, many old-school and legacy systems are separated and siloed in the organization, making it harder to access a complete picture of the workforce. A good digital transformation strategy will look for a way to bring their cloud communications together into a single environment where they can access better insights.
Additionally, some advanced unified communications as a service solution will also provide access to AI and machine learning tools that can help businesses to more easily gather and crunch data. This increased access to date leads to better customer service, and stronger employee experiences too.
Lagging Legacy Models
Many businesses rely on existing principles and products that have allowed them to compete for years, up until now. Unfortunately, some legacy tools can end up being more of a burden than an asset. For instance, if your legacy phones prevent you from making affordable calls overseas, or accessing reliable connections with customers, then they could be damaging your reputation in the industry.
Switching to a more reliable solution like VoIP and embracing unified communications tools will help you to overcome the issues caused by lagging, disruptive, and often expensive legacy models. The key to success is finding the right blend of legacy and innovative systems to help your company transform.
Managing Budget
Finally, one of the biggest concerns that any company will have in digital transformation is keeping track of their budget. Figuring out how to update your strategy without spending a fortune isn’t always difficult. You’ll need to balance the potential ROI of new initiatives with the costs of replacing legacy systems. Switching to the cloud whenever possible is an excellent way to keep expenses to a minimum.
The cloud allows businesses to embrace a pay-as-you-go model for the technology that you need. What’s more, it eliminates the demand to pay for expensive hardware up-front. When you’re ready to upgrade to new technology, you can implement what your employees are looking for and keep costs low.
The digital world will always be evolving and transforming, particularly as new technology continues to arrive on the market. It’s up to you to make sure that you’re prepared to stay on the cutting edge. Otherwise, you could end up falling behind.
About the Author
Irina Kirnos is a Product Marketing Manager at RingCentral in EMEA. With experience in the cloud software and communication industry spanning Silicon Valley, Research Triangle Park and now London, she enjoys working collaboratively with global teams to develop product messaging and positioning, sales enablement and competitive differentiation make this possible for startups and large businesses anywhere in the world.
