Digital transformation is already a fact, whether we accept it or not. Most of the processes, procedures, transactions, activities, and behaviors that we have in our personal, work, business, and diplomatic lives, among others, are digitized. And those who are not yet… are on their way!

Therefore, in this content we are going to tell you everything you need to know so that you do not enter it late.

Digitization has brought multiple benefits to our evolution at a commercial, human, educational, social, professional level and much more. That’s why it’s a must for most spins. However, it should not be confused with being a simple or easy process to do.

There is currently a general ignorance of what it is and what revolves around this concept. So that you can have first-class information at hand, we created this material, where we will present the main topics so that you are aware of everything that has to do with this methodology.

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What is Digital Transformation?

First of all, it is important to note that many experts differ on the exact definition of this concept. However, here we will tell you in a summarized and homogeneous way one that is more accepted by the majority.

Digital transformation is the compendium and integration of new and innovative technologies, in multiple areas of an organization, to change and improve the way it works.

Its main objective is to optimize processes and resources, accelerate results and offer added value that allows it to be more competitive in its market.

Digital transformation should not be confused with the digitization of work tools, for example, how to buy new computers or a faster router.

This methodology involves creating and implementing a change in organizational and business mindset and culture within a business. It is precisely a commitment to new futuristic methods that improve conditions within the company and enhance results.

As we said, this can be applied to any area or stage in an organization. However, it requires arduous examination and analysis, in each sector. As well as about the skills of the collaborators, discussions of the board of directors, relationship with clients and suppliers, and more.

Digital transformation helps companies stay competitive and keep up with the demands of their customers. In addition, in the medium and long term, this methodology produces enough dividends to make it more than logical to incorporate it into the company.

Importance of digital transformation

Maintaining competitiveness in such globalized and constantly changing markets already speaks of the organization’s ability to quickly adapt to the needs of the sector.

Companies that quickly adopt this methodology and focus on giving their customers better experiences through multiple channels will have an advantage over others.

Likewise, digital transformation produces a positive impact in each area of an organization, for example:

I. Relationship with customers

Today, customers have more power than ever. Which means that having high-quality, best-priced products and services is no longer enough. They need satisfying interactions and experiences to form a bond with a brand.

Through processes, tools and digital interfaces that are intuitive, fast and easy to use, users can execute transactions easily and with the feeling that they are being taken into account.

II. Process optimization

Without high-level operational capabilities it is almost impossible to deliver a satisfying user experience. The digital transformation has allowed companies to execute their processes, both production, administration, management, marketing and sales, in a simplified and automated way.

In this way, an organization is able to provide its customers, employees, members and suppliers with digitized processes to generate efficiency in each department.

III. Relationship and processes with collaborators

It’s not just about giving your workforce a wide range of tools and technologies to speed up their tasks. It also has to do with creating a simple work experience for them, giving them a more satisfying feeling and adding more value to what they do.

Digital transformation is not only about having technologies in each department. It is about helping each stage of the organization with tools that facilitate its design, creation, implementation and, of course, its results.

Advantages inherent to digital transformation

Speed is the new currency of business. Today’s organizations have to be quick to meet customer needs and expectations. A digitally transformed company has some capabilities and advantages over its competitors that have not.

But do you know what they are? Next, we teach you.

I. New business opportunities

Digitization brings companies closer to sectors and markets that cannot be accessed in a traditional way. The rise and acceptance of e-commerce has transformed the way products and services are traded.

It is no longer necessary to have a physical presence to enter the market of another country or region. Which has democratized business opportunities for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.

II. healthier companies

Adaptability is part of life itself. Living beings have to condition themselves to the new rules of nature in order to survive. The same happens with companies and the digital environment.

New technologies are here to stay and updating processes and operations has to happen or you can risk extinction.

Digital transformation allows companies to keep up with the cultural, social and business environment, to keep up with it and promote business continuity.

III. Lower costs

The optimization of internal processes and procedures in each area of the company generates considerable time savings.

Additionally, being able to do without some tasks results in the lowest utilization of resources, transportation, and other variables.

IV. Attracts trained staff

Today’s professionals understand the digital spectrum perfectly. If your company is capable of offering them a digitally transformed environment, they will surely be tempted to take part to exploit their capabilities and apply what they know.

Companies that decide not to update run the risk of being underestimated by the bulk of the workforce that seeks working conditions that adapt to the needs and challenges of the market.

V. Improve communication with customers

Having a presence in digital environments and processes brings you much closer to the customer and to what they are thinking of your company.

Organizations that use these tools to create and expand communication channels facilitate understanding with their audience and customer base. This makes it easier to understand their needs and opinions.

As you can see, digital transformation produces paradigm changes that are significant for any company, regardless of where it is located. From the differences between industries, even more advantages can be found from adopting digital processes and procedures.

Main phases to implement it in companies

It is important to note that digital transformation does not necessarily have to occur in the same process in all areas of a company. It can be conceived little by little, according to the needs and capacities of the organization.

Now, this methodology is supported by four pillars: customer experience, organizational culture, business culture and everything driven by technology. This, implemented in turn, through 3 processes:

I. Leaving the comfort zone

This may be the first obstacle you face when implementing digital transformation in an organization, since its members may be used to a routine of processes and tasks.

The fear of change can cause companies to lose ground to small start-ups and businesses that do bet on digitization. And that is evident when a brand begins to generate customers and conversations.

Users solve their problems online, answer questions and search for the products and services they need on the Internet.

It’s time to leave the comfort zone and go after the update!

II. Train the team in digital skills

The new paradigm requires staff and members capable of generating ideas, processes, proposals and solutions in a creative and innovative way, and this is only possible by training in digital skills.

You must take into account the following:

self-learning;
Customer orientation;
Effective communication, that is, effective, clear and precise, with customers, suppliers and colleagues;
Skills to work in multidisciplinary teams to achieve specific objectives.

So, it is necessary to educate and train those members who can add value to your production chain. This will also make you have human resources with ambition and the desire to improve themselves.

III. Create digital strategies and processes

Your business model must revolve around the customer experience, using digital tools and procedures. Adopting new technologies is the first step for digital transformation, for example, software that designs, outlines and executes the digital strategy and that takes advantage of each department to accelerate results.

In addition, the design of a customer life cycle map, measurement of results, identification and correction of errors, and planning looking to the future of the company, are some of the processes that you can start to generate thanks to data obtained by tools. of analysis.

Digital transformation is not an objective, it is a process that takes time, dedication, an open attitude to changes, collaboration and a lot of planning. The new opportunities offered by digitization are there, but you have to know how to take advantage of them.

What technologies should you take into account to adopt digital transformation?

To start implementing it, beyond the planning and training of employees, there are a number of elements that need to be explored. Here we show you!

I. Cloud services

Cybersecurity and data loss are some of the main challenges that a company faces when it begins its digital transformation.

Cloud services are all those applications, tools and computing facilities that are offered without having to be installed, physically or virtually, within the company. That is, a company is a provider of such a service and everything is hosted within its infrastructure.

Before starting to use cloud computing services, it is essential to follow these tips:

Carry out an internal analysis of the needs of your organization.
Identify the goal(s) you want to achieve.
Analyze the cost and make comparisons with other companies that provide the service.
Implement it and monitor the process and its results.

There are hundreds of tools and functionalities that can be obtained through the cloud. It is important that you carry out a study to determine which is the most suitable service for your business.

II. big data

This process allows you to collect in an accelerated and massive way, data that serves to know certain points of your company or your market. For example, trends, reputation, audience needs, social media conversations, and much more.

The information obtained through Big Data can give you a competitive advantage over those companies that offer similar services to you. Which, with planning and strategies, can result in profitability for your organization.

III. electronic signatures

When we talk about cybersecurity and acceleration of processes, the electronic signature emerges as a tool that provides companies with an encrypted information system to approve documents, sign agreements, accept transactions, among others.

This system present within the digital transformation, adapts to the needs of each user and allows you to have control of each decision within your company regardless of where you are.

The electronic signature is a term that represents the type of authentication that replaces, precisely, the autograph signature, that is, the one that is written in handwriting.

It’s a simpler way to authenticate a document, without having to be present at the site. What speeds up processes and, even so, protects every asset and procedure of your company.

These are just some of the services and terms that you should keep in mind when implementing digital transformation in your organization. According to the needs you have and, of course, the capacity you have, you can gradually adopt the one that can give you the most productivity.

How is digital transformation applied in companies?

As we have already said, digital transformation is not a recipe, but a process that is gradually being carried out towards each department. For this reason, to apply it, we will give you some advice according to the sector where it will be implemented.

I. Human Resources

The human resources department is one of the departments that performs the most procedures and tasks in an organization. Therefore, adding tools that digitize and automate processes are of great help to lighten the workload.

It can be applied, for example:

Virtual assistants : automation tools for employee service. These chatbots have emerged as a response to save money in human personnel, and thus allowing a quick and personalized response to the needs of your collaborators.
Machine Learning : data intelligence that allows analyzing information for decision making. It tries to incorporate them in the selection processes to define the best hiring profiles according to the needs of the company.
Employee Centricity : a context where organizations consider their employees as key players in adapting to customer requirements. The employee experience can be used in human resources in order to provide answers to the needs of today’s collaborators.

Digitization is a good way to align recruitment, service, and employee experience processes in order to embrace digital transformation.

Sales

Consumers demand sales stages that are easy, agile and that allow them to build loyalty. Using these methods you could achieve it:

Social networks : having a presence and activity within social platforms, in a systematic way, but at the same time, personal and humanized, can help you create value links with your audience and/or clients.
Lasting and valuable relationships : establishing a real connection with your customers is the best way to retain them and make them come back. A sales department that studies the specific data of its customers and has an analysis process that provides them with measurements on their needs, behaviors and interests, is an effective way to offer them more value for their money and attention.
Sharing information online : much of what customers buy physically has already been studied by them digitally. This new behavior indicates that companies should consider new methods of informing the customer through the Internet and help them in their decision making to attract them to their products and services.

Boost your sales with new technologies!

Accounting

As a last example, we will use one of the most complex and important within companies: the accounting department.

The digital transformation in this area is not only about the digital management of data, but also about using it to generate value and relevant information to make efficient decisions.

Automation of expense processes : use analysis tools to find suppliers with a reputation in a certain area, compare prices and study proposals, using artificial intelligence and Machine Learning.
Mobile audit : take control and inventory management from anywhere, it is now possible thanks to the digital transformation. The fact that an owner, manager or manager can access and review the movement and availability of merchandise in real time is a process that can speed up decision-making and generate greater profitability.
Big Data for Finance – Capturing and integrating all of your organization’s current and historical accounting data to identify patterns, measure results, anticipate bottlenecks, and solve problems is now possible thanks to digitization. It is only a matter of looking for the best analysis tools, and those professionals capable of interpreting said data.

No more finger errors!

Don’t be left behind!

Digital transformation is more than a novelty right now. It has already become a normality within the processes of production, management, administration, marketing, public relations and much beyond.

When a company has been in the market for some time and has not yet adapted to the new paradigms, it may take time to stabilize its processes so that it begins to generate tangible and visible results, but that is natural in each process of change.

The most important thing within the digital transformation is that it is seen as a constant process, with multiple edges and with many options that can work if it takes the time to study and implement it within the organization.

It is key to note that there are no shortcuts when it comes to digitization. You can’t go from having processes run by humans, to collapsing them into a set of digital procedures overnight.

As an organization moves down this path, much about the business model will need to change in order for all adaptation to take place successfully. It is important that you remember that accepting the change is precisely what is indicated for this moment. Evolving is what everyone needs.

In this world full of data, any company or organization has enough information at its disposal to meet the expectations of its customers, collaborators and suppliers. Therefore, not evoking towards digital transformation can seem like business suicide, handing over your destiny to failure.

Now that you know what digital transformation is about in an organization, let’s see what relationship and importance it has with respect to the Latin American panorama.

The challenges facing digital transformation

Let’s remember that it is not about applying a lot of technologies for the simple fact that the trend dictates it.

It is more complex than that and requires a commitment to change and an understanding of why the company needs it to continue in force in its market, whatever it may be.

For their part, it is understandable that traditional companies find it a bit difficult to adapt and quickly change the operating model to which they have been accustomed for decades.

However, companies that are trapped in fear of change run the risk of being “swallowed” or replaced by new digital native businesses.

The biggest challenge

With this scenario, it is worth going back to the concept of mentality change and organizational culture that was mentioned at the beginning of this text. Because? Beyond implementing new technologies for processes, the biggest challenge is transforming one of the greatest assets of an organization.

Yes, just as you thought, the people who make up an organization, regardless of its size or its commercial value, are the engine of it. Because what good would a bunch of ideas be if there is no one to execute them, give them life and transform them?

Likewise, as people embody their beliefs, ideas, goals, desires and fears in the DNA of the company, it becomes a challenge that goes beyond investment in technological infrastructure to enter the personal fields.

The members of an organization at any level, put a large part of their time and their lives for the operation of the projects, for this reason, any idea that could threaten that stability that they have won with effort, could be rejected if it is not communicated accordingly. the proper way.

Tips for following the process with your team

If you are the one tasked with promoting digital transformation in your organization, here are some tips that are useful when addressing change in a company accustomed to a traditional paradigm:

Design a step by step.
Get advice from experts during all stages of the change process.
It involves all areas and levels, without exception.
Share the challenges and opportunities that each area has, let them know that their contribution is important to achieve it.
Similarly, use language and resources that each area can understand.

This change is of a structural nature, therefore it is not convenient for it to be abrupt, however, it needs to be continuous and, above all, the commitment of each individual involved in the organization is needed.

However, there are other equally important aspects that allow the digital transformation process to be sustained over time:

Digital talent: Within the organization, personnel with a high digital profile must be found and also allow the entry of new members who contribute in the areas of greatest responsibility.
Promote the work of digital transformation: Being a process in constant movement, it must be fed with training and constant updating, to promote the retention of the personnel who lead this change.
Continuous investment: to face the changing challenges of the market, it is necessary for companies to visualize the opportunities that they can access in the future and invest in them.

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