Unsure if digital transformation is really the best route for your business? We take a closer look at one of the biggest benefits of embracing new tech, which many organisations can’t afford to ignore.
Welcome to our new blog series, exploring the benefits of digital transformation and the impact it could have on organisational success. We’ve launched this new series because digital transformation is something that many businesses are still feeling quite wary about. And worryingly, it’s Australian companies that appear to be lagging behind those in many other parts of the world.
That’s right. As a nation, we’re failing to fully embrace the new era of digital.
Reports published just before the global health crisis show that Australia was ranked second to last on the Digital Maturity Index. Of course, while many organisations expanded their digital capabilities during the pandemic, even today the majority of Australian businesses are still allocating less than 10% of their annual budget to IT and technology. It’s time to take digital transformation seriously.
Why? Well, despite the challenges that can arise from digital transformation – such as making sure you have the necessary talent and resources to succeed – embracing tech is key to success. There are many potential advantages that can help elevate businesses and take them to the next level.
That’s exactly what we want to focus on and promote within this series. And we’re starting off with one of the biggest benefits of all: the ability to enhance how we collect and utilise valuable data.
Why is data collection so important?
Quite simply, data collection is completely changing the way we work. When we’re able to access and draw insights from large amounts of useful data, we can use it to gain a competitive advantage. Just as importantly, our need to assume and estimate is reduced.
And really, assumptions are the big problem here.
Beliefs, expectations, theories, guesses… these were all important elements of operations, once upon a time. We needed to try to predict or anticipate what was next, and assumptions played a big role in that. But take a look around you. Our landscape is not stable. The business environment is vulnerable. We’ve got the lingering effects of lockdown. We’re in the midst of an economic crisis. Our entire planet is in a state of emergency. We can no longer rely on guesses to help us succeed, because, as we’ve already witnessed, anything could be right around the corner.
Instead, we need to focus on real-world intelligence to aid decision-making. That comes from data.
Data can help businesses to:
- Tailor services to meet customer needs more closely
- Better understand customer preferences and expectations
- Refine and tune business strategies
- Grow, develop, and diversify in the best possible way
- Retain the most valuable customers – and attract new ones
- Create better experiences for employees and attract top talent
- More accurately prepare for tomorrow’s trends
- Reduce waste, and save money
Sadly, without the right technological infrastructure in place, collecting and making sense of data isn’t easy. That’s why, if you haven’t already, you need to be thinking about digital transformation.
Technology: the key to improved data collection
Businesses may already be collecting data through manual means – surveys, interviews, focus groups, and so on. But technology allows us to automate the process, organically collecting data in real time, as it’s generated, from a wider range of touchpoints. And best of all, we can combine data from multiple sources to generate a more holistic, big-picture overview of what exactly is going on.
And that’s not all.
It’s a continuous loop of value. When we prioritise digital transformation for enhanced data collection, we can then utilise the power of this data to shape our ongoing digital transformation strategy. By embracing tech, we’re in a position to generate useful insights to make even better decisions for the future of our IT departments, becoming stronger all the time.
And if you need support taking that first step – or second, third, fourth, and so on – don’t forget we’re always here to help. Get in touch with us here at Perigon One to find out how we can assist you.
