Following lockdowns and the progressive transmission of Covid-19, businesses the world over have been forced to reckon with the reality that the digital transformation initiatives that they’d penned for future delivery were, in fact, essential to their keeping their head above water in the present. With 90% of executives foreseeing that the Covid-19 crisis will fundamentally change the way that they do business over the next 5 years, digital transformation is key to regaining control.

The remote workforce, a rise in e-commerce and the digital economy are set to define the ‘new normal’ and to this end, effective management of digital transformation initiatives and strategies will prove vital in fighting Covid-19 and future black swan events. This article looks to explore the digital transformation process and how we can best prepare for uncertainty into 2022 and beyond.

Technology

Digital transformation is driven by the technical solutions that an organization employs to aid in its operational and business requirements. Grouped together, the collection of these problem-solving technologies make up a technology ecosystem, and it’s something proving increasingly difficult for executives to manage and reassess as Covid-19 remains.

It’s crucial that we have regain visibility and control over the technology ecosystem in 2022. Understanding how tools in the technology ecosystem interact and interrelate to help build, reimagine, and renovate a business’ processes will be crucial in the coming months. No organization can ensure its ongoing success if it does not clearly lay out its strategy where this ecosystem is concerned.

When constructing a versatile technological ecosystem then, effective leaders will consider the following:

1. Establish what works – Look at the technologies you’re currently using to establish what works, what’s worth keeping and what you can afford to lose.
2. Identify the processes for improvement – Look for the technologies likely to improve your systems and select them according to your business size, industry, and characteristics.
3. Ensure all technologies intersect – Technology for technology’s sake is meaningless, instead make sure that every tool you use is pulling in the same direction to maximize value.
4. Guarantee that every technical solution can scale – Will the technology you plan to employ work for you in a week, a month, a year into the future? Can it scale up? Ask yourself this question to sort the crucial from the convenient.

By following these steps, executives can establish a strong baseline for their technological ecosystem, one that is well prepared to support the latest innovations. KPMG and HFS Research’s recent survey of 900 senior technology leaders found that 59% believed that Covid-19 had set a desire to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, with 56% focused on tech like AI & Cloud.

Cloud – Tim Crawford, strategic CIO for AVOA has stated “When you move to cloud, one of the great things about it is it really forces you to think about how to run in a lights-out operation”. Cloud migration projects have become a significant focus throughout 2020-21 as cloud provides the agility and scalability that can help companies weather crises more effectively.

Enterprise adoption of cloud technologies has soared as executives have realized this apparent competitive advantage. According to a recent poll of 250 IT leaders undertaken by Snow Software for example, 82% have ramped up their use of cloud to respond to Covid-19. A further 55% had increased their investment and usage of cloud-based collaboration tools in line with this.

In the future, cloud technology could help us to deliver innovations in digital healthcare and advanced robotics but cloud migration is already essential in 2021. For example, the cloud infrastructure market hit a $180B run rate in Q3 of 2021, even in spite of a global chip shortage. Overall, companies that successfully deploy cloud migration projects have seen a 145% return on investment. Truly, if you haven’t already invested in cloud, the time is now.

Artificial Intelligence – AI and automation technologies have seen unparalleled adoption rates since the start of the year. Even at the end of 2019, 72% of executives regarded AI as the business advantage of the future and it’s hard to see why. The ability that AI has to automate time-consuming processes and free up staff for high-value tasks is a core advantage that executives desperately require to stay ahead of the curve.

It is estimated that AI could increase productivity by 40% delivering as much as $2.9 trillion in business value by the end of 2021. Every dollar counts in modern business and executives can’t afford to turn away value on any level. 2022 should be viewed as the year to experiment with your processes and AI should be the lens you achieve this through.

The global revenue of AI business operations is set to skyrocket to $10.8bn by 2023, yet many of us are still slow to adopt and employ the technology in some capacity today. However, there’s still time for late adopters of the technology to get involved prior to the boom we’re likely to see over the next decade. Automation isn’t relegated to the realms of sci-fi any longer and executives must realise this.

Cloud and AI technologies are set to revolutionize business technology all whilst fitting into the aforementioned technology ecosystem. The solutions in this space can play well with legacy technology and scale well with organization need, to this end, executives cannot ignore their potential.

Security

As the technology we utilize daily advances and the work we do remotely increases, our need to protect the systems we rely on from outage and cyberattacks rises steeply. A marked focus on cyber security came to define 2020 and it’s showing no sign of abating as the decade ensues.

When it comes to security and cybersecurity trends, there are three appreciable developments that leaders continue to prioritize.

1. International Fragmentation – Tensions are intensifying between countries around the subjects of internet governance, data localization and security. How do we balance it?
2. Cyber Capacity & Access to Skills – The gap between the companies with an established cybersecurity strategy and those without widened in 2020, the skills haven’t caught up.
3. Criminal Activity Increasing – Criminal activity, though it is being perpetrated by the same pre-pandemic groups, is on the rise, particularly surrounding phishing and DDoS attacks.

There are however, two distinct factors that have naturally facilitated a marked push towards security advancement, namely, remote work and issues pertaining to Covid-19.

Remote Work – Early estimates from Gallup suggest that 62% of the American workforce were pushed towards remote work during April of 2020. According to Webroot, since between April and July 2020, there was a 40% increase in unsecured remote desktop protocol (RDP) machines for remote work. Consequently, between March and April alone, RDP brute-force attacks grew by 400%. The remote workforce is a fact of the ‘new normal’ and with that, so too is significant security risk.

Infosec trainer Frank Rietta states, “the biggest challenge for many organizations… is working with a 70-90% remote workforce. The technology to allow teams to work securely from home has existed for years, but there has been slow adoption due to organizational inertia and an overreliance on network security…this is a structural and not a technological challenge.”

Businesses have been resting on their laurels when it comes to remote cybersecurity threats, as they could previously afford to. Now, employee data and confidential workplace information are all up for grabs for hackers and cyberterrorists and as such, executives must protect both themselves and their staff from all potential threats whilst working from home. Failure to do so will prove disastrous.

Coronavirus-Related Cyberthreats – Cybercriminals are taking advantage of Covid-19, using the virus to reel people in and gain their trust. It’s certainly expected, but the scale at which these crimes are increasing will surprise many. According to ReedSmith, security scams increased by 400% over the month of March, making COVID-19 the largest-ever security threat than any industry has faced.

Cindy Murphy, President of Digital Forensics for Tetra Defense explains this issue well, stating, “this is social engineering at its worst… People haven’t become more gullible in the past six months… but when the next news headlines could be a matter of safety or sickness, it’s much easier to believe information that appears right in your inbox.”

To this end, executives must prepare themselves for the fallout. These are perhaps the most difficult times that any business could face when it comes to cybersecurity concerns and though it may be difficult to part with the budget now, it will prove vital in your ability to protect your organization both during the pandemic and after it.

Communication

Since the start of the new millennium, technologies have risen up to reduce the distance which separate us. Social media, email and videotelephony technologies have all revolutionized how communicate with one another and during a pandemic, digital communication has become indispensable.

According to a study from the University of Zurich, during the first few weeks of the pandemic in the US, there was a significant increase in voice calls (36%), social media (35%), and video calls (30%) from respondents. It also found that almost a quarter of people more frequently used email (24%), and just over one fifth played games more often (22%). It seems that where face-to-face opportunities are a no go, digital is the next best thing.

How else do we explain the exponential rise in – and successes of – omnichannel communication if not for this? Effective communication with consumers is second only to guaranteeing their safety at this time and reaching out to them across multiple channels with the right message will create significant value.

Statistics from Omnisend suggest at this, finding that marketers using three or more channels in any one campaign earned a 287% higher purchase rate than those using single-channel campaigns. It also found that businesses which adopt omni-channel strategies achieve 91% greater year-over-year customer retention rates.

Business leaders and organizations are flocking to make use of omnichannel but they must first establish a plan to deliver results. According to Mckinsey, an effective omnichannel strategy will consider the following:

1. Prioritize the Right Cross-Channel Journeys – All organizations must target a cross-channel journey which works for them. These must consider the multiple channels customers use and where their interest is as well as how important it could be to them.
2. Design for the Channels that Matter – Companies can shift their focus after the first stage to look at building out functionalities to support the channels of customer choice. This ensures information flows freely across channels to create a personalized omnichannel experience.
3. Embed a customer-centric mindset – Whatever you’re pursuing in regard to omnichannel strategy, you should always ask yourself whether it’ll work for your customers.

The omnichannel approach is vital to operations at this time, as Dr. Kirsten Cowan – a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh – writes “retailers that innovate in omnichannel will succeed amidst Covid-19”. She then added that “the more channels retailers integrate, the more satisfied consumers are likely to feel”.

Ultimately, ignoring omnichannel is ignoring success. Helping you to communicate and put personalised content in front of your consumer across any of the channels that they use, this content can then activate and reactivate them again and again.

Content then, is the cornerstone of the omnichannel approach and since the start of the year there’s been a marked increase in digital content consumption by consumers across all industries. For example, according to Forbes, global online content consumption doubled in 2020. If there is one trend to be taken from this article it’s to ensure that you develop your omnichannel approach to include content that is unique and communicates your brand identity effectively and creatively.

How are Digital Transformation efforts having to adjust to Covid-19?

Technology, Security, Communication – digital transformation initiatives are won and lost based on a company’s ability to innovate effectively in these areas. In this article we’ve studied each and have illuminated the strategies by which any business might hope to action the change necessary to disrupt the impact of Covid-19. These are uncertain times, subject to certain change but effective digital transformation will see you rise to meet it.

GDS Group hosts experts to help experts. We strive to provide an atmosphere for our attendees that enables them to confidently lead their companies through major transformation projects. For information on upcoming events, view our view our Digital Summits. To remain current on our activities, visit GDS Group on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter.