Before the pandemic, businesses and companies alike were afraid to dip into digital transformation and adoption. This was due to the potential challenges that business owners will reasonably face.
The main challenges include:-
Lack of Funding: Some smaller businesses and startups still lack the necessary financials to implement good and functional software needed to better business processes, customer experiences and overall company culture.
Lack of Resources and Machinery Experience: 45% of executives don’t think their company has the right technology and talents to implement a digital transformation. (PwC)
Cybersecurity: The vulnerability of exposed data is fearful for businesses as there are high risks for data leaks and breaches to happen, leading to a digital crisis.
But ever since the implementations of national lockdowns and the emerging culture of working from home, businesses were forced to transition online and make the best out of the situation. Hence, digital adoption essentially boomed over the pandemic and the advancement of technology was also pushed to further enhance in order to cope with the overwhelming demand for better business processors. Ever since the pandemic, 89% of all companies have already adopted a digital-first business strategy or plan to do so. (IDG)
The detailed changes are:-
Consumer Demands & Consumption: Online websites and marketplaces emerged in abundance in order to allow the now stay-at-home consumers to access shopping and daily consumption for entertainment via a digital route. Many businesses and brands also upgraded their digital platforms and social media sites to garner sales and convert leads in order to stay afloat.
Omnichannel Usage: All in one app/website, product/ service browsing, payment processing as well as providing customer feedback. More brands and businesses also opted for this option on their website or app in order to improve tracking of sales for their products and services and also ultimately lessen physical contact.
Social Commerce: Over the past few months, more people were forced to perform commercing online via social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter. Though social commerce has already existed and was already in practice, we can’t deny that more consumers gained trust in online shopping platforms and sellers through social media platforms amidst the pandemic.
What will digital adoption look like in 10 years, with the impact from the pandemic?
- Advancement of technology focusing on better cybersecurity: As more people adopt digitalisation into their business processes, we cannot deny that a lot of business owners are worried about the vulnerability of their exposed data to hackers and potential threats. This is essential as now, many are focusing on advancing their technology, whereas cybersecurity has remained rather stagnant.
- Digital transformation and adoption will need to become more accessible: As bigger companies are able to attain better and more advanced technology, hence leading to better business and customer solutions in the long term. While compared to smaller businesses and startups, with big competitors gaining more speed, it will be harder for them to attain advanced technology and improve themselves in terms of financial gain and business leads.
To conclude, digital adoption will only continue to move forward to improve business solutions, but it is up to us to keep up with the changes and use it wisely to bring positive to ourselves and our organizations.