There is a lot of buzz around digital transformation these days. We live and work in a fast-paced digitally driven world. In fact, nearly three-quarters of IT leaders today say their companies are prioritizing digital transformation, up from 56% in 2021.
Yet, many small to medium-sized businesses have lacked the resources and investment in technology to match the ever-changing world around them. New advances like AI and machine learning are looming in the distance for many SMBs that have already fallen behind when it comes to technology.
Recognizing the signs that indicate your business needs to spark a digital transformation is crucial to staying ahead in a competitive market.
Fear of Growth. There is nothing more frustrating as a business owner than knowing your business could be elevated to a new level with new revenue streams and growth opportunities, but also feeling you don’t have the resources and technology in place to make it happen. If your staff is relying on outdated tools and practices to manage projects and keep daily operations going, your team can’t grow, and your business can’t grow. That should indeed make you afraid and want to consider incorporating digital transformation strategies, systems, and technologies.
Data Breach. If you are a small or medium-sized business today, you are under attack. In fact, you might be reading this thinking “no kidding – that just happened to us.” SMBs can be at higher risk of a security breach than enterprise organizations. Hackers like to target SMBs because they know there hasn’t been as much investment in cybersecurity technology and policies. If the thought of a cyber-attack is keeping you up at night, it’s probably time for a technology and security upgrade.
Gut Decisions. Don’t get me wrong, intuition and instinct play an important role in business. But today’s business strategies can be made with a plethora of historical data and business knowledge. If your team often states they don’t have the data to be clear on things like product performance, customer sentiment, or account profitability, you are missing out on important insights that could be propelling your business forward. Technology updates that create interconnected systems can provide you with a much clearer picture of your daily operations and strategies for the future.
Employee Attrition. Digital transformation is more than just new technology. It’s also about your employees and culture. Having a strong company culture isn’t just donuts in the breakroom and flexible time off policies. It’s also about the work your employees do each day. If there are areas of your company that tend to have higher turnover, there can be several contributing factors like leadership and pay structure. But don’t overlook the frustrations employees in those areas may have with cumbersome processes and outdated technology. Improving them as part of your digital transformation strategy can also improve employee attrition.
That’s the Way We Do It. If your meetings tend to have some commentary around a process being “the way we have always done it” or a new idea being “not the way we do it here,” your business might be stuck. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine a different way of doing something until the department or process is fully mapped out. Process mapping can uncover hidden obstacles, workarounds, and time drags. Once uncovered, more technologically advanced solutions can be explored to improve business processes and automate workflows.
Unfortunately, some of these signs may have sounded all too familiar. Sluggish performance, inefficient data management, limited growth, and poor employee experience are all clear indicators it’s time to spark a digital transformation. Resilience is one of our core values at EO Johnson, but we also know making decisions with the long game in mind can be difficult for SMBs trying to successfully get through the day-to-day operation. We are a business technology service provider, and we love to walk alongside our customers to help them navigate the evolving technology landscape. No matter where you are in your digital transformation journey, we have ways to help from process mapping, electronic document management, managed print services, and cybersecurity assessments. Let’s get started with a conversation.