How has the pandemic changed digital transformation

Digital Transformation means a lot of things to a lot of people, for some it is about going paperless, for some it is about data analytics and Ai (Artificial Intelligence), and for some it is something else.......

Then what exactly is Digital Transformation.

Digital Transformation may look different for every organisation, so it is hard to give an exact definition that applies to all. However, in general terms digital transformation can be put put forward as, "the integration of digital technology into all areas of business, fundamentally changing how an organisation operate and deliver value to its customers and clients". 

As per experts, panel discussions, keynotes, articles, and studies have mentioned that "Digital Transformation is essential for all businesses, from small business to large enterprise, to survive and deliver value, especially keeping the current pandemic situation in mind".

Transformation means, reassessing, redefining, and remodelling. 

How has the pandemic changed Digital Transformation?

An organisation may take on digital transformation for several reasons. But by far, the most likely reason is that they have to "It's a survival issue". It needs to overcome the hurdles and challenges to completely transform. In the wake of the pandemic, an organisation's ability to adapt quickly to supply chain disruptions, time to market pressures, and rapidly changing customer expectations has become critical.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to meeting digital transformation goals and forced many organisations to speed up the work. The crisis reshaped the "What" and "How" of the organisations digital transformation agenda. 

Today the majority of workforce is working from remote locations (WFH), employee experience of digital technology has gone from "nice to have" to "the only way to work".  

Although Digital transformation is widely based on organisation specific challenges and demands, there are few constants and common themes that all business leaders should consider as they embark on Digital transformation. For instance, these Digital transformation elements are often cited,

    - Customer Experience

    - Operational Agility

    - Culture and Leadership 

    - Workforce enablement 

    - Digital Technology Integration

While each guide has its own recommendations and considerations, organisations should look for those important shared themes when developing their own Digital transformation strategy. Few examples of transformation frameworks include

    - MIT Sloan - The Nine elements of Digital Transformation

    - Cognizant - A Framework for Digital Business Transformation 

    - Altimeter - Six Stages of Digital Transformation

    - Ionology - A Step by Step guide to Digital Transformation  

Digital transformation is a massive undertaking, especially for larger, established companies. When done right, it will produce a business that is more aligned with customer demands and resilient in the fast-moving digital future.

Note: 

I agree Digital transformation is the future but to make use of it to the maximum you need to first get over the initial humps from vision to execution which most organizations fail to address, and because of this they think they lag far behind their peers on transformation when that isn’t the case. Digital transformation should begin with a problem statement, a clear opportunity, or an aspirational goal. The "why" of your organisation's digital transformation must be around improving customer experience, reducing friction, increasing productivity, or elevating profitability. Successful companies in the digital economy must be both digital – to provide customer value, and digitised – to provide scale and efficiency.