06 Aug Digital Transformation: Why IT is More Important Than Ever for SMBs

In a study conducted in 2016, it was found that the United States and the UK operate at less than 20% of their digital potential. And in continental Europe, the number drops even lower to just 12%. 

When it comes to productivity, imagine your business running at 18% of its capacity; or imagine your employees doing so. Completely unacceptable, right? Not even reaching a quarter of your potential in other areas of business would be lambasted. So shouldn’t we apply the same to digital processes?

Ignoring the digital potential of a business can be the difference between flourishing and languishing. And productivity isn’t the only thing affected. While digitalization often comes hand in hand with efficiency, it also opens up opportunities for other avenues of growth. Although cash flow for many small businesses tends to be restricted, investing in a digital strategy can be money well spent, especially in order to ensure business longevity. Rather than waiting to digitally transform your small business later after experiencing growth, small and medium-sized businesses are in the unique position to build upon a digital strategy from the start.

A digital transformation can be approached in a variety of ways and is often implemented over a period of time, but the end goal is typically the same— to digitally overhaul processes, customer relations and operations. 

Once meaning the transformation of pen-and-paperwork to digital files, in today’s modern and evolving landscape, a digital transformation now means full incorporation of cloud computing. 

Processes

Businesses entail many different processes, but for the sake of the digital transformation let’s look at one: team management. For companies looking to fully transform their workflows to a digital space, every aspect of team management can be converted to the cloud. Many businesses saw themselves party to this process transformation over the course of the recent pandemic. The cloud slowly took over video conferencing, file sharing, and even task managers so employees could stay connected though staying at home. 

Customer Relations

Customer relations can also be improved when the cloud is incorporated. Automated cloud and AI-powered chatbots are helpful in assisting customers instantaneously. These same interactive agents can also help assist customers with recommendations and troubleshooting. While these systems won’t be able to cover all aspects of customer service, they do assist in reaching a wide base and allowing actual service agents to better assist deeper issues that may require more time. 

Operations

Effectively operating is at the heart of the digital transformation and where the power of cloud computing is most evident, especially regarding the management of enterprise data. Implementing cloud storage is not just a way to digitally transform your business, it is fundamental to creating a well-rounded data protection plan. Protecting your data from loss is equally as important as building out a digital business plan to ensure business continuity. 

To implement a strong and lasting digital plan in your business, automating aspects of your business isn’t enough; integrating cloud computing systems across all aspects of business-  from development to sales- will help create a lasting digital strategy. 

If you’re unsure of how to get started on your own digital transformation and strategy, visit www.polarbackup.com/business/ to take a look at our cloud backup plans made especially with SMBs in mind. These can help not only kick-start your digital transformation but protect your data from devastating loss.