From education and healthcare to finance, commerce, banking, and entertainment, digitalization has drastically collided with and modified, the underlying preconceptions of a postmodern society’s way of life and organization of labor. Today’s society is becoming more diverse and digitalized than it has ever been.
With the introduction of computers in the 1950s marking the beginning of digitization, the never-ending march of digital transformation has converted practically everything into computer-friendly 1s and 0s, forever altering our daily lives. Not to mention, over the last decades, digital technologies have proliferated at a breakneck pace, representing one of the fastest rates of technological adoption in history.
For example, personal computers (PCs) were used by 1.4 billion people globally in 2010, a dramatic surge up from the 100 million mark of the 1990s. Today, this number has nearly doubled. Likewise, in 1990, there were ten million mobile phone users worldwide; today, there are more than five billion. Over the same decades, the number of Internet users increased even faster, from 3 million to 2 billion. To put that in perspective, there were as many Internet users around the globe as there were people in the city of Barcelona only a couple of decades ago. Today, there are as many individuals online as there are people in all of Asia.
In other words, digitization, in our current business and marketing sphere, is extremely important due to the rapid proliferation of developments in digital technology. Businesses that do not utilize digitization will be left behind in the dust and would not be able to compete at all. In order to ensure the longevity and expansion of businesses of any kind, digital transformation has become the norm, and in many cases, an absolute necessity.
What is Digitization?
Simply put, digitization is the process of converting analogue information into a series of 1s and 0s and putting it into binary code so that it can be read by a computer. According to the Oxford English Dictionary & Gartner 2019, “Digitization” is the process of converting analogue data (such as photographs, video, and text) into a digital format.’ In other words, the material process of turning individual analogue streams of information into digital bits is known as digitization.
The Importance of Business Digitization
Transitioning from old analogue to digital, modern technologies have reshaped the whole corporate landscape. In business, digitalization has helped in increasing the efficacy of business procedures by allowing for automation. Vast amounts of data are now saved on the cloud rather than on physical storage devices, guaranteeing that there are no data silos. Moreover, due to the lessened requirement for human labor, there are fewer human mistakes and lower operating expenses brought about through the digitization process.
Furthermore, digital transformation efficiently reduces redundancies as well and also shortens the communications chain by integrating traditional documents or files into a digitalized form. Not only that, but it also enhances and allows a more efficient interchange of information. Because digitalization has removed geographical barriers, firms can deliver customer care to audiences and clients all over the world too.
Most importantly, however, when looking at digitization from a purely business and competition perspective, today’s world of fierce rivalry demands businesses to have a competitive advantage to survive. A malleable alloy, the corporate world’s dynamic nature varies depending on its surroundings, and the overall conversion of how businesses are conducted is heavily influenced by how strong one’s digital presence is. As such, to stay afloat, businesses must evolve on a regular basis. Organizations in today’s digital environment have no choice but to engage on a digital transformation path.
Listed below are reasons why digitization is an extremely important aspect of business growth.
- Lower Operational Costs
The goal of any business owner is to save time and, more significantly, money. Because manual actions and procedures are performed one at a time, they are inherently slower than automated engagements and actions. Suboptimal operations can cost a company a significant amount of its yearly income. When business operations are performed manually, there is a far higher risk of losing resources. Digitalization allows you to make the most economical and cost-effective use of your most valuable assets.
Moreover, traditional IT-intensive initiatives pay off only at the conclusion of the project, which might be years after it begins. However, digitizing end-to-end operations one at a time can enhance efficacy in as little as three to five months.
- Reliability and Excellence
One of the most significant benefits of digitization is that it ensures that each activity is performed consistently, culminating in high, trustworthy output. After all, what methods do merchants and brand owners use to maintain client loyalty? Answered simply, by creating high-quality items. Good quality items result in positive feedback, repeat consumers, and a boost to your financial line. All parties in the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the brand to the merchant selling the items, rely on continuous product quality, and digitization can tremendously help in this regard. For example, if you systematize your customer care follow-up procedure, your clients will always obtain the same level of service from your organization. You may start creating higher-quality, more feature-rich solutions with little or no rise in production time and costs because of the affirmation of reliability and consistency, as well as the time and economic savings due to digitization.
- Simplified and Streamlined Business Processes
Every company is constantly seeking new ways to increase efficiency. When a business process is automated, you can count on consistent results. By digitizing the business process, teams can simply automate service and equipment maintenance reservations, plan system updates, and determine which assets are currently in use. Staff can even track when equipment needs repair before it breaks down using linked sensor-driven IoT technology, allowing for predictive maintenance that keeps your business running more efficiently and with fewer disruptions. Corporations can also gain better transparency and fairness by automating procedures and related business rules. In other words, digitization cuts down on the amount of time it takes to accomplish a task, the amount of work required, and the expense of doing it correctly.
- Unrestricted Geolocation Limits
Digitization allows businesses to engage with customers globally in a more substantive manner, just as technology advancements have made it simpler for consumers to communicate their opinions and insights. The omnipresent connection provided by mobile gadgets and social platforms, both of which provide limitless opportunities for client involvement, is one of the most important aspects of global digitization. Moreover, physical geographical barriers can virtually be erased through digital transformation, which can, in turn, lead to businesses reaching a wider audience and client pool. Even a small local business may expand its service area if it has a great website and works with a reliable transportation service.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the opposition to company digitalization, it is unavoidable in today’s age. All of your rivals rely on it, and they benefit from it. If your business does not embrace digitization, you may as well not exist. From cutting costs while increasing your reach beyond the local level to enhanced customer service and increased productivity and performance, the benefits of digitization are too strong to ignore.
You can read our previous blog about some of the best SEO tools that can help small businesses maintain a strong digital presence: Best SEO Tools in Australia.
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