Why digital transformation is a differentiator for IT companies

22nd Jan 2021

Virtually every industry is turning to digitalisation to meet the demands for higher productivity, better data management and an improved customer experience.

Yet few businesses have the expertise in-house to deploy an effective digital transformation strategy.

This presents a great opportunity for IT service providers to differentiate themselves in the market with digital transformation services.

What is digital transformation and why does it matter?

Digital transformation involves a complete re-evaluation of how the organisation delivers value internally and externally. Digital technologies are deployed across every area of the organisation. This sometimes means challenging the status quo and being open to experimentation.

This is almost imperative to survival. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for organisations to react to supply chain disruptions and changing customer expectations. Organisations have become acutely aware of the need to digitise their work processes. IDC forecasts that global spending on digital transformation services will grow 10.4 percent in 2020 to $1.3 trillion.

One difficulty with enacting digital transformation is that it means different things to different organisations. Or even different individuals within the same organisation. Some may think of it as data, others as software or others still as artificial intelligence.

Levelling the playing field

As a case in point, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the dominance of Amazon in the retail sector. Digital transformation has become a secret weapon for businesses in the industry. Technology levels the playing field, offering them new ways of serving and interacting with their customers.
Beyond the standard managed IT services, providers who provide strategic digital transformation services will differentiate themselves for years to come.

Designing a framework for digital transformation

Rolling out a digital transformation strategy organisation-wide is not straightforward. Organisations must be able to tie their data and analytics to their business objectives.

They must carefully design a framework for their digital transformation, making sure they understand clearly what it is they are hoping to achieve.

It’s not just about technology, it’s about a whole range of other issues and cultural transformation across the organisation. That’s why digital transformation can be a differentiator.