If you’ve ever been inside a store, restaurant, airport, or government office, you’re already familiar with how technology is transforming our economy. New technologies have caused industries to transform throughout history. New tools are always being developed to make people more efficient.
Competition in any industry requires those doing business to adopt new tools and techniques. When companies rely on technological innovations to produce better products or provide higher quality services, they can grow and succeed. New tools and technologies not only allow for greater productivity, but also facilitate communication and collaboration. This has led to a shorter distance between producer and consumer as well as increased efficiency and lower costs for some businesses.
Some digital transformation experts believe that such dramatic changes will come about again in the future. It is believed that strong market forces will continue to drive technology adoption into other areas like supply chain management and manufacturing.
Evolution of digital transformation
These days, doing business without technology is impossible. All aspects of our lives are affected by it. Even your job could be at risk if you don’t keep up with these evolving technologies.
According to Arie de Geus, director of Center for Innovation & Disruption at Ernst & Young, ‘Technology is evolved rapidly enough to make people lose their jobs through automation within five years. And it starts with machine learning and artificial intelligence.’
If you work at any company with both employees and customers, there's a good chance that you have been influenced by this approachable power of technology. It seems like every week someone else discovers how automated processes can improve the experience workers perform.
More often than not, advancements in technology serve to reduce human involvement. However, before we can enjoy those improvements, we must understand what they mean for our everyday roles.
Consider the impact of technology on truck drivers. Now imagine driving without a driver. You can do many things with modern technology. When machines cannot do them as well or as safely, they will replace humans.
At first, engineers modified existing systems to take advantage of technology. But now companies are investing more in research and development to come up with new products and services. This means there are more opportunities for growth and advancement.
Technology is changing the workforce faster than ever before, and future developments may continue to transform it further. So how should companies adapt a digital transformation strategy?
Do you have the time to transform your business?
With technology, less is more.
Many well-known leaders suggest the importance of being efficient with your resources is fundamental to running a successful business.
You can be extremely effective without spending extra money on tools or training programs, but instead investing in your workforce.
Spend your time working on projects that will make an impact on the company’s success. This means avoiding overhead activities that do not directly impact your bottom line.
Expecting to transform overnight
One of the biggest drawbacks people see in digital transformation is that it can take years to have an impact on your organization. You also need enough budget to cover the new technology investments, and you must maintain this investment even as competitors are developing at a faster pace.
You may realize through experience that organic growth helps make up for the time it takes to develop and implement processes and systems.
However, one must understand that without some form of sustainable innovation, they will lose ground and be left behind by their competition. What’s more, expecting sudden change is actually contrary to what humans were designed to do.
The brain needs mental fuel and motivation to operate at maximum performance. The human body has a breaking point. It was created to function with certain nutrients and environmental conditions. All organisms require energy to survive, and life itself requires energy to live or exist. Energy is never created nor destroyed but only changes its form.
Make changes slowly
The best way to transform your business using technology is to adopt a slow, organic approach. You want to make sure the people in your organization are comfortable with having technological innovations be part of their career path.
You also need to have the infrastructure in place to support the new technologies.
Finally, you need employees who are skilled in utilizing new technology. If you try to force something into the workplace that doesn’t work or isn’t well managed, it can end up hurting productivity and even creating a divide between those who understand how things are done and those who don’t.
It’s better to take time and find ways to improve employee efficiency than to move forward too quickly and see frustration for all parties.
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