Here’s why businesses can’t survive without ‘thinking digital’​ in the age of COVID

Nothing has shaped business more in the past few months than Covid-19. Whilst most of what has come of the pandemic has been negative, if there can be said to be any silver lining, perhaps it’s that more and more businesses are becoming digital-literate.

In fact, experts are suggesting that companies are needing to use digital tools to stay afloat and stay relevant in these times. We’re taking a look at how and why your business should be ‘thinking digital’ in the age of COVID, in order to keep things running smoothly.

Why is thinking digital so important during this time?

It goes without saying that coronavirus has impacted the need for digitization of operations. Due to social distancing measures that have been put into practice across the globe, businesses have had to start working remotely, and that has meant utilizing digital tools to keep them working as productively as possible.

However, it’s important to note that the likelihood is that work will never go back to where it was before. The world has moved digital, and there’s a good chance it won’t be going back. We believe that the impact of coronavirus will mean that many people who can work remotely, will end up doing so more regularly than before.

This means that not only will your business need to be digital-literate in the short-term coronavirus period, but the business, on the whole, will need to be prepared to work digitally in the future too. Digitization allows remote work to remain productive, allows knowledge sharing, and future proofs your business too.

For more information on how your remote working model could work harder for your business, get in touch to book a call today.

How can you digitize your business long term?

Most business leaders are just trying to navigate through the next few months successfully, using digital tools to aid them. However, if businesses want long term success, they need to be thinking about digitizing their business on a more holistic level.

Take a look at our top tips on how businesses can do that:

• Ensure that going digital is everyone’s job

All too often we hear the phrase “it’s someone else’s job”, and this is all too true with technology and going digital. Although you might have a CIO in place or a chief technology officer on hand, ultimately it’s every business leader’s job to ensure that the business is moving towards a sustainable, digital model.

• Accept that it’s a learning curve

The thing with digitization is that it’s a learning curve. The technology and tools are constantly evolving and innovating, meaning that you’ll need to kickstart your digital revolution and evolve as you go along. Don’t expect to have the perfect digital solutions set up straight away, but know that any step towards moving your business digital is a good move.

• Ensure that remote work is a long term option

The reality is that many people have realized that they like working from home and they can do it. In the modern, post-corona world of work, employees will expect to have the resources in place to allow them to work from home, and you should be prepared for that as a business. Remote work means that you get access to the best talent from across the globe, and your people are able to work in a way that suits them — it’s a win-win.

• Understand that digital is widespread

Many businesses feel like they have it all figured out because they’ve implemented one element of digital and it’s going well. In reality, this kind of attitude towards digital is very narrow. Within digital, there are things like analysis, artificial intelligence, and data management which many businesses forget all about.

Now, with the age of coronavirus upon us, it’s more important than ever that we look for opportunities to implement digital on a broader scale. We should be looking at digital as a business strategy, not just a short term solution to Covid-19.

• Understand that this will require change management

People need to change their thinking and we need to eliminate resistance, however, this is easier said than done. One needs to identify the Catalyst, Champion, and the Challenger in the organization to ensure this happens and manage the change effectively from that starting point.

Are you ready to unlock the potential of digital for your business?

If you have questions about digital transformation and what it means for your business to transform from “traditional” to “digital” enterprise, please reach out. We understand how overwhelming it can be for most diligent organizations especially during COVID-19 where the focus is on survival. We enable our clients to accelerate their digital transformation journey by developing innovative strategies to replace legacy systems with a cloud-native architecture. We offer innovation labs and sprints to help you think through outcomes and become intentional about your path to digitization. We are here to help you ‘think digital’.