Digital Transformation: Your questions answered

Our team has put together some frequently asked questions to help you understand what digital transformation is, why it is essential for your organisation and how to kick start your digital transformation journey.

If you have a question to which you cannot find the answer, feel free to reach out.

What is digital transformation?

At Calls9, we see digital transformation as the rethinking of how organisations use digital technology, people, and processes to transform how they operate and create value for their employees and customers.

Driven by increased competition, shifting customer expectations, new working patterns and disruptive technology, most organisations pursue digital transformation initiatives to enable new business models, revenue streams, better working methods, and improved customer experiences. Organisations also use digital technology and processes to develop new, disruptive digital-first or hybrid digital/physical products and services or improve existing ones.

It is a collaborative process between senior leadership and business departments to blend business-focused approaches and experience with new digital technologies and streamlined processes.

Digital transformation is also a cultural change that pushes organisations to adopt a people-centric approach that places people at the heart of the decision-making process. It requires organisations to keep challenging the status quo, embrace change, be agile and flexible.

What are the four types of digital transformation?

1. Process Transformation:?Improve internal processes to achieve lower costs, enhance quality, reduce cycle times and increase employee satisfaction.?
2. Business Model Transformation:?Fundamentally transform the way businesses deliver value for customers.
3. Domain Transformation:?Adopt new technologies to digitise offline offerings, providing digital-first or hybrid products and services.?
4. Cultural/Organizational Transformation:?Embrace a digital-first culture, changing attitudes and processes while incorporating new talents and capabilities.

Why do I need digital transformation??

We live in a time where digital transformation is not an option; it is the only option. There is no other way for organisations to stay relevant and have a sustainable competitive advantage than going through a digital transformation journey.

Digital transformation enables businesses to:

Accelerate business growth via:?

• New business models that fulfil your customers' needs
• Differentiated value propositions that disrupt the market?
• Dynamic pricing models that satisfy market demand

Provide next-generation customer experiences through:

• Improved digital personalised customer experiences
• A better understanding of your customers' needs and desires?
• Quicker and easier ways of accessing, buying and using your digital products and services
• Increased customer acquisition and retention?

Enable better ways of working that:

• Create a more connected digital workplace
• Use digital technology that is foremost designed around your people
• Bridge the gap between employees and customers?
• Reduce inefficiencies and increase productivity
• Promote employee health and wellbeing

What is a digital platform?

A digital platform is a place where you can offer your products and services to your customers, share your organisation's knowledge internally and externally, enable better ways of working and interact with your community. Digital platforms can take multiple forms for your organisation, and they can work as:

• A Marketplace?to offer your products and services to your customers, providing a seamless customer experience.?
• A Digital workplace?that provides personalisation to accommodate each employee's needs, automation, analytics, low/no-code interfaces, easy knowledge management and consumer-grade user interfaces.??
• A Network?to manage and engage with your community in real-time

Combining all the above in a single digital platform, you have everything you need in one place to provide unified and connected experiences for your team and your customers. For a digital platform to be successful, it should be specifically designed for your business, easy-to-use, secure, trustworthy and built for scale.??

At Calls9, we build digital platforms that meet your business and customer needs to differentiate your organisation from your competitors and help you grow. We believe you don't need multiple disconnected systems and tools working in silos but a single platform that provides the functionality you want in one place.?Check out how we do this.

What is a digital product or service?

Digital is transforming the very nature of service or product offerings by bringing them into the digital world, automating manual processes, improving customer experiences and providing more dynamic pricing options.

By using a digital platform, businesses can launch a brand new digital product or service or improve an existing one so that their customers can:

• Access, interact and purchase your products or services on demand, regardless of place and time.
• Work with your team in real-time and get advice and support quickly, reducing the need for time-consuming calls and emails.?

What are some real examples of digital transformation?

• Interlaw?-?Connecting over 7,600 lawyers worldwide through a single digital platform.
• Bona Fide??- Building a global influencer marketing platform, digitising a previously offline business model.?
• Savings Champion??- Replatformed Savings Champion from Salesforce and Django to Calls9 Nucleus to consolidate content management, product management, customer management and reporting into a single platform.
• GoBubble Kids?- Building a safer digital community for children and transforming how kids use social media.?
• I&I?- Transforming how businesses find, evaluate and buy indemnity insurance

Check out more examples and digital transformation stories.

What are the most serious barriers digital transformation projects run into?

During your digital transformation journey, you may encounter several obstacles and challenges, which is better to know about beforehand and be prepared to act proactively. The five most common barriers to the success of digital transformation projects are:

1. Risk-aversive culture:?Digital transformation, at its core, requires taking risks, and an organisation needs to be prepared to experiment and try new technologies, processes and ways of working. Adopting a people-centric and agile culture where all people are encouraged to welcome change and innovation is fundamental for the success of any digital transformation initiative.?
2. Lack of vision:?Digital transformation requires a clear vision. At the start of their digital transformation journey, organisations need to understand their "why". Understanding why they are transforming will shape a digital vision, which will lead to a market-leading proposition.?See how we can help you understand your "why".
3. Legacy systems:??Businesses often hold on to outdated legacy technology systems because they are comfortable and familiar. However, being willing to replace legacy systems with new digital technologies is crucial for their digital transformation.
4. Organisation silos:?Digital transformation requires change across the entire organisation and needs a collaborative attitude to ensure everybody is on board. Digital transformation cannot succeed in a siloed organisation as, from its nature, it necessitates connectivity and communication across the organisation.?
5. Lack of digital skills:?Knowing how to use and work with new digital technologies is necessary for digital transformation success. Businesses need to train their staff to plug their skills gap and bring in the right talent to use the new systems and help the company grow effectively.?

Why do I need an external partner?

As Eric Gervet, Partner at A.T. Kearney said,

"The world is complex, so Professional Services firms can't do everything on their own. They need an ecosystem of partners outside."

Digital transformation can bring your business immense opportunities and benefits, but it is also a long and sometimes challenging journey that you do not have to go through alone.

A partnership with Calls9 means you have access to people with more than 12 years of digital transformation experience. We have expertise in creating market-leading propositions, building technology around the needs of your people, and helping you overcome your challenges. We ultimately help you realise your full potential.

How can I get started with digital transformation?

At Calls9, we help big brands and scale-ups launch, scale and build value through technology.

We have designed a process that helps you quickly see how your organisation can use digital to transform by understanding:

• How your customers and employees perceive your business to identify areas of improvement
• What the competitive landscape looks like, and what changes in your sector could affect your business
• How digital can enable new business models, better ways of working and improved customer experiences

At the end of the process, you will have a clear digital transformation strategy built around your specific needs and designed to help you improve your business, disrupt your market or enter a new one.

We then use this strategy to kick-start a programme of digital transformation.

Ready to start with a Digital Transformation Audit? Or do you prefer a quick chat with our team? Either way, we are here to help you kick-start your journey towards transformation!