Digital Transformation Trends Upending Old Business Models

Digital transformation is changing businesses from the inside out, sweeping away old processes, and replacing them with better ones. With 2020 now in full swing, we’re seeing technology have more profound impacts than ever before. The following are some of the most anticipated digital business trends you need to know about. 

Using Data to Create Better Customer Experiences

According to a report by MuleSoft, around 93 percent of business leaders say that delivering a reliable customer experience will be central to their overall performance in the next two years. But if they want to give their customers what they want on the ground, they’re going to have to make use of data. 

Currently, companies have a problem. They have a lot of data, but it comes to them through disparate channels. They would like to integrate it all in a central hub, but gathering the expertise to make that happen is a challenge. Most SMEs simply don’t have the technical knowledge to use all their information for something useful. 

Customers, though, don’t care about these technical difficulties. They expect firms to offer an omnichannel experience seamlessly, without any breaks in quality. 

The trend in the coming year, therefore, will be towards using applications that reduce this complexity and turn customer information into usable data. 

Machine Learning For Productivity

Businesses are adopting AI at a tremendous rate and using it for all kinds of things. Right now, the main applications are chatbots, virtual agents, and task automation. In the future, though, we could see new applications, such as full-blown intellectual services and even tools that help researchers in R&D departments. 

The real potential use cases of machine learning are yet to be fully realized, but they could include any of the following: 

• Smart, autonomous drones for delivery
• Better fraud detection in the banking and financial system
• Automated marketing and promotion
• Personalized product recommendations
• Better translation abilities
• Enhanced disease detection in medical settings
• More intelligent robots that can sense humans in their vicinity

Virtualization For Hassle-Free IT 

Businesses no longer need to operate servers in-house. Instead, they can get access to all the data-processing power they need through the cloud. Many agencies, like Healthy IT, therefore, are pushing virtualization, a technology that promises to transform the business landscape. 

The idea here is to use the cloud to create virtual computers that anyone in the organization can access at any time, no matter where they are. These systems give businesses machines that they can operate through their devices, but without any of the actual hassle of running them in-house.

Multi-Cloud Strategies

Not all companies want to move their operations entirely to the cloud. That’s understandable. Those with particularly sensitive customer information may still want to keep data under lock and key in-house. 

2020, therefore, is likely to see the emergence of multi-cloud models. Here, companies receive some of their services from the cloud and rely on in-house systems for others. We’re yet to see a major breach at a Google or Amazon data center, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.