Digital technologies have empowered customers to have complete control of their interactions with businesses. They demand superior multi-channel experiences which are personalized and contextual. Moreover, the rapidly evolving technology landscape and fierce competition have caused businesses to see digital as a necessity rather than an option.

Most businesses today realize the need for transforming digitally as it impacts the go-to-market strategy, transaction with customers or partners and internal operations. To succeed in this journey, it requires a complete enterprise wide transformation with a sharp break from legacy systems and old age practices.

So what is digital transformation exactly and why is it challenging?

Use of technology to radically improve business performance is nothing but digital transformation. Digital transformation involves leveraging digital technologies to transform customer experience, remodel business processes, and bring in innovative digital business models for creating new revenue streams.

However, it is not that easy for businesses to create an experience that is memorable, seamless and worthy of customer loyalty. Digital transformation in many cases results in reshaping the entire business ecosystem, which is a mammoth task. So, how do you pave your way towards a digital future?

Before you embark on your journey to digital transformation you need to have a strategic roadmap for adopting various digital technologies. Cutting edge technologies such as Cloud, Mobility, Analytics, DevOps and User Experience form the backbone of every transformation project. With the adoption of these technologies, companies may realize benefits in terms of improving overall customer experience, exploring new business models, increased profitability, faster time to market, agility, cost efficiency, scalability, flexibility and many more.But the path to digital transformation is quite complex and full of challenges.

Highlighted below are some of the digital transformation challenges…

1. Communication and Collaboration: Digital transformation cannot take place in silos. It needs effective communication and collaboration among various functions of the organization.

2. Understanding Customer Behavior:  Going digital underlines the fact that your businesses follow the customer first approach. The digitally empowered customer is smart, knows what he wants and at what stake. Understanding customer requirements and being able to provide solutions accordingly is an art that needs to be mastered.

3. Data Paralysis: The sheer volume of structured and unstructured data generated today is overwhelming. We can see a higher adoption of big data technologies to analyze these large datasets and unlock their real potential.

4. Working in Uncertainty:  Evolving new age technologies, changing customer demands and an unreliable market environment can lead to chaos and uncertainty. Going for digital transformation blindfolded would get you nowhere. It is critical to have a clear vision translated into a robust, scalable digital roadmap.

 To succeed in a world that is getting more and more complex with smart connected devices, businesses that can articulate a digitally enabled product focusing on customers’ needs will gain competitive advantage. Businesses need to understand the elements of digital transformation, its enablers and challenges to unlock the true potential of digital transformation.