Companies cannot rely on traditional business methods to remain relevant in today’s ultra-competitive market. In many cases, standing still means falling behind and losing customers to competitors with a more flexible outlook. Teams cannot address the nuances of the modern business landscape with outdated legacy solutions. Organizations can benefit from a digital transformation that leverages technology to modernize their business.
Organizations must exercise effective information management to fully realize the benefits of digital transformation. This post examines the essential elements of digital transformation and the role information management plays in its success.
What is Digital Transformation?
Companies undergoing digital transformation use technology to make fundamental changes in how they operate, compete, and provide value to their customers. Decision-makers are tasked with transforming business models, workflows, customer experiences, and the corporate culture to maximize the potential benefits of modern technology. A successful digital transformation is a strategic alignment between business requirements and objectives with technological solutions.
Organizations that adopt digital transformation can expect to achieve benefits, including:
- Improved productivity;
- Reduced operational costs;
- Enhanced resilience to minimize disruptions;
- Increase customer and brand loyalty.
A digital transformation typically involves a methodical approach that incorporates the following key elements.
Modernizing technology
Organizations evaluate their existing systems and replace obsolete ones with modern alternatives. The modernization often involves migrating from on-premises, legacy data processing solutions to cloud computing. Companies can leverage advanced technologies such as automation, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) through cost-effective offerings from cloud service providers (CSPs). Teams in some market sectors may implement Internet of Things (IoT) devices to provide real-time data to support business operations and enhance competitiveness.
Optimizing business processes
Companies optimize existing business processes by implementing measures such as developing self-service portals, automating supply chains, and digitizing document management. Modern technologies, such as analytics and ML, enable predictive maintenance to minimize downtime and streamline business operations. Optimization reduces operational costs and delays that impact customer service.
Enhancing the customer experience
Digital transformation enables businesses to enhance customer service and stand out from the competition. A comprehensive transformation includes personalized marketing campaigns, mobile apps, and AI assistants to help customers navigate an ecommerce site. The goal is to provide customers with a seamless and modern experience that builds brand loyalty.
Implementing new business models
Companies can use their digital capabilities to introduce new products and platforms. Businesses drive growth and differentiate themselves from the competition with subscription and as-a-service offerings. The revenue streams opened through digital transformation can increase profitability and prepare a business to thrive in the future.
Changing the corporate culture
A successful digital transformation includes a shift in the corporate culture that embraces new technologies and business processes. Teams can leverage knowledge-sharing and collaboration tools to improve productivity and streamline business operations. Companies should invest in training to provide employees with the skills needed to optimize new methods and technologies.
How Information Management Supports Digital Transformation
Information is the primary asset behind digital transformation. Digital transformation requires companies to collect, govern, analyze, and use data effectively. A transformation relies on the availability of trustworthy, secure, and high-quality data. This information provides actionable insights rather than guesswork to address business issues. Well-managed information supports digital transformation in multiple ways.
Establishing a centralized source of truth
A successful transformation requires leaders to make fast, data-driven decisions. Teams across the organization must be confident in the veracity and consistency of corporate data resources. Decision-makers must be able to trust the data and the insights it provides through analytics and business intelligence tools. Companies can construct a single source of truth by eliminating data silos and standardizing data classification policies.
Supporting AI and automation
Effective information management unlocks the value of data for AI applications and automating business procedures. Companies cannot fully realize the benefits of AI and ML tools if they train them on low-quality data. Teams must perform various activities to ensure maximum data value, including deduplication, normalization, and documenting data lineage. Organizations should support data use with scalable storage and computing infrastructure to handle increased volumes of information efficiently. Businesses can achieve greater accuracy in AI applications and shorten the time required to train ML models, taking advantage of market opportunities.
Ensuring security and compliance
Companies must address increasing regulatory obligations as they digitize and grow their data resources. Teams must exercise comprehensive information management to address these requirements and reduce the risk of compliance violations. Organizations should implement policy-driven data retention and deletion, with audit trails to demonstrate compliance.
Corporate data assets also need to be protected from external and internal threat actors. Strict identity and access management (IAM) tools must be deployed to control access to sensitive information. Incisive information management helps protect the company from data breaches and instills confidence when adopting new technologies, such as cloud solutions.
Improving operational efficiency
Organizations require operational agility and efficiency for a successful digital transformation. Information management supports efficiency by ensuring data is accessible, usable, and shareable throughout the company. Teams can streamline workflows by working with consistent, structured data assets. Businesses can reduce manual document handling processes and automate information lifecycle management to ensure data is always current and accurate.
Promoting new business models
Companies with effective information management are well placed to take advantage of new business models and opportunities. Modern models, such as subscription services and analytics platforms, require clean, reliable data. Organizations can gain agility and develop new revenue streams with effectively managed data.
How VAST Can Help You Manage Your Information
VAST offers a range of services to help you manage your data efficiently and support your digital transformation. Our discovery and assessment service provides a deep understanding of your current environment, enabling you to make informed, data-driven decisions when migrating to the cloud. We protect your valuable data with managed backups, Cloud Backup-as-a-Service (CBaaS), and Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service. Our expert team will work with you to develop a business continuity strategy to ensure your organization’s future.
Contact us to learn how we can facilitate a successful digital transformation by protecting your business and keeping your data secure.
