Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends to Watch in 2017

Digital transformation is reshaping every aspect of business and strategy. It has become an unavoidable challenge for all companies.

Digital technologies are becoming omnipresent in our daily lives at an ever-accelerating pace. Digital channels are multiplying and gaining traction, disrupting business models and organizational structures. As a result, digital transformation is no longer just a trend—it has become a central pillar of modern business strategy.

Here are the top 10 things that happened in 2017:

1 – Adaptation: Vital for Business Survival

Change is inevitable. Whether businesses like it or not, it will happen. The challenge lies in adapting to this new market and incorporating these new technologies into the company culture.

2 – The Growing Importance of Customer Experience

Customer experience refers to the overall perception a consumer has after interacting with a company—through its employees, products, stores, websites, marketing campaigns, values, and service centers. It includes every touchpoint before, during, and after the purchase.

As consumers become more cautious and value-driven, creating trust through positive interactions becomes a key strategy to retain loyalty and engagement.

3 – Fast-Paced and Dynamic Innovation

With competition becoming ever tougher, proactive innovation is fundamental to staying competitive and evolving in the marketplace, and needs to be well integrated into corporate strategy.

Companies can no longer afford to waste time, and new technologies need to be evaluated, tested, analyzed and approved faster than ever. It's in this context that a new kind of mentality is emerging, that of “failing fast to shine even faster”. And the shorter the path between an emerging idea and its implementation, the greater the company's chances of adapting and seizing opportunities for market upheaval.

If a company has a good capacity to adapt and integrate new technologies, it has a good chance of ensuring long-term success.

4 – The emergence of a new phenomenon: the remote workforce

Thanks to mobile technology and improved bandwidth, companies are able to hire the best talent, anywhere in the world.

Young professionals, meanwhile, value flexibility and appreciate the possibility of working from home or being nomadic.

So, against this backdrop of digital transformation, companies continue to support the capabilities of telecommuting, which continues to grow and enable remote operations, while meeting young professionals' need for flexibility and comfort.

5 – The advent of augmented reality and virtual reality

The success of Pokémon Go should serve as a wake-up call to all companies that have yet to assess the enormous potential of augmented reality and virtual reality.

Once limited to the realm of gaming, these technologies can now be easily implemented by businesses, offering them new ways of connecting with and interacting with the consumer.

The popularity of these two technologies has also opened the door to the phenomenon of “gamification” (a neologism for taking game mechanics and adapting them to non-game actions or applications). The aim of gamification is to make an action more playful, to encourage the commitment of the individual taking part, and possibly to introduce a viral dimension. Examples:

• Awarding of scores, badges, etc.
• Competition with other users via a scoreboard
• Game-type interfaces
• Etc...

There's every chance that, before long, gamification will go from being a mere detail to a real marketing strategy for companies, notably to improve the customer experience (see point 2 of the article).

6 – The Application Programming Interface (API): the secret weapon of true digital transformation

In simple terms, an API creates a common language for dialogue and data exchange between application A and application B, which are not programmed in the same language, nor physically in the same place. In short, APIs are an efficient way for two applications to communicate with each other.

APIs will enable a fast and flexible ecosystem, linking multiple platforms. Some companies will certainly be tempted to resist this change in order to avoid sharing the pie, but for companies looking to deploy technology and create the best user experience, it is often necessary to call on several suppliers.

7 – Big Data and analytical processing: the cornerstone of business operations

We know that there's a dizzying amount of valuable data circulating around our planet. We also understand that this Big Data is increasingly important in the business world, but few companies know how to optimize its uses.

This is where analytical processing comes in. In fact, it enables the company to be steered by highlighting how customers think, what they want, and how the brand is positioned in the market. In the age of digital transformation, almost everything can be measured, and this will do much to shape the way companies operate. Every important decision can and must be supported by the application of data and analysis.

8 - Digital transformation driven by the Internet of Things (IoT)

The IoT has revolutionized the way everyday life works, and is helping to create more efficient cities and businesses. With around 50 billion connected object sensors by 2020 and over 200 billion “things” on the Internet by 2030, there's no doubt that the IoT will disrupt current/traditional business models.

9 - Intelligent machines and artificial intelligence (AI) take off

Our relationship with technology continues to evolve, and machines will soon be able to learn from and adapt to their environment. Artificial intelligence has long been considered the stuff of science fiction, but as technology continues to improve, AI is becoming a reality. While some advanced machines can replace low-skilled jobs, AI will be able to work in collaboration with humans to solve more complex problems. Chances are that AI will soon become one of the biggest disruptions in the IT world.

10 - Breaking down silos

The role of the CIO (Chief Information Officer) has changed considerably in recent years. With the emergence of new positions/roles such as Digital Project Manager or Customer Experience Director, we are witnessing the digital transformation that is taking place NOW. It's important to understand that this transformation impacts not just the company's technology, but the entire organization. The elimination of silos and compartmentalization will enable the company to focus on innovation, and to grow ever stronger through easier collaboration.

All these new trends and technologies expected in 2017 are just the beginning of the digital transformation process, which has become a necessity for companies wishing to build an agile business model and survive over time

DEEP can provide the digital energy you need for your digital transformation with ConnectedOffice

Source : Top 10 Trends for Digital Transformation in 2017 – Daniel Newman

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2016/08/30/top-10-trends-for-digital-transformation-in-2017/#489c5f236567