Digital Business Integration is about transforming a company with digital technologies, implementing them on an organization-wide scale, and radically changing the way the company operates. Going digital means making a shift in the mindset of leadership and employees, adopting new business models, digitizing processes, and increasing the use of technology to satisfy the company's main stakeholders.
Digital integration might be necessary for both small businesses and giant corporations because, in today's world, it can be the only way for a firm to remain competitive and relevant in a digital landscape. According to several recent surveys, about two-thirds of IT companies have a management initiative or transformation program aimed at making their business more digital. Just over half (54 percent) stated that their digital business objective is transformational, while 46 percent indicated that the objective of their initiative is optimization.
A business may go digital for various reasons, but the most important one is that it’s vital for the firm’s survival. For example, in 1958, U.S. corporations remained on the S&P 500 index for an average of 61 years. By 2011, this had dropped to 18 years. Today, companies are being replaced on the S&P approximately every two weeks. The reason for this paradigm shift is the growing speed of change brought about by technologies and new methods of communication. Companies need to understand how to integrate these technologies into their strategies.
Digital transformation can involve many different technologies, but the most popular ones right now are cloud computing, the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence. These technologies are helping companies create new business models and change the way they operate, resulting in increased production output, improved optimization and so on.
However, digital transformation is not just about technology—it’s also about a change in organizational culture, which is even more critical in the long run. This cultural shift would lead to a complete overhaul of the company’s philosophy and established processes. Ultimately, new practices would emerge and prove to be much more conducive to efficient operations and the overall success of the company.
