Digital Transformation: Your Organization’s Journey to the Cloud

The business world is experiencing a monumental turning point in the way it operates. Experts argue it’s the biggest transformation of how humans and organizations operate together since the Agricultural Revolution in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Particularly in the last year and a half, the world has been experiencing seemingly never-ending changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One major change evident across the globe—largely due to the shift to a remote workforce—is the digitization of company’s processes and operation. Known as digital transformation, this is the process of exploiting digital technologies and supporting capabilities to create a robust new digital business model that adjusts rapidly to supply chain backlogs, evolving consumer expectations and market pressures.

Organizations can’t stay stagnant and change is necessary to keep up with competitors and the rest of the world. Digital transformation is the new reality for many companies. It’s a must-have, not a nice-to-have. But how do you actually make this major shift towards digitization? Keep reading to learn more about how to digitize your organization and how AIM can help you succeed.

History of Digital Transformation

“Seemingly overnight, the world transformed as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across countries, forcing workers everywhere to begin work remotely. However, the digital transformation started decades before 2020.” (Bill Drayton, Social Entrepreneur)

After the invention of the Internet, the 1990s were a period when many of the familiar websites, software platforms, digital devices, and technology companies were first created, like Amazon, Google, Netflix and Salesforce. In the years since, they’ve been developed into incredibly complex and advanced digital assets used in nearly every aspect of life.

In 2007, much of what organizations and individuals alike depend on nowadays for storage (also known as the Cloud) was first introduced. Today, many aspects of our personal and social lives seem to be impacted by the use of at least one digital device or software, so it was only a matter of time before the professional world digitized as well.

Pandemic Propels Digital Transformation

In the past three years, the acceleration of consumers moving online or towards digital channels has been significant. In North America, the average share of digital customer interactions jumped 40% in the three years, according to companies included in McKinsey research. Furthermore, the average share of products or services that are partially or fully digitized increased nearly 30% in the same amount of time.

Data shows that different sectors have adjusted to increased digitization at various rates, depending on the industry and how it was impacted by the pandemic. Industries like healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, retail, financial services and others were drastically impacted by the acceleration of digital transformation.

Importance of Digital Transformation

Digital transformation helps an organization keep up with emerging customer demands, meaning a better chance of survival in the long-term. It allows companies to compete better in an economic environment that’s constantly changing in response to technological evolutions. When a digital turnaround is managed and conducted properly, it gives companies the opportunity to unlock operational and productive advantages that previously may not have been possible (or even evident).

One key to a successful digital transformation is to keep information at the center. Big data volumes, formats, and sources keep growing exponentially within organizations. So, the question for leading companies: how do we turn all this data into actionable intelligence in a meaningful and profitable way so it can lead to new opportunities?

Finding new revenue streams together by connecting systems of value and building bridges is key in digital transformation and is enabled by a technological reality that increasingly revolves around data, actionable intelligence, software, and connectivity. Implementing a digital transformation in your organization could look like:

• Digital operating models, including integrated cross-functional teams.
• Better integration of AI and machine learning.
• Simplified merger and acquisition activity
• More flexibility for digital experimentation and expansion
• Increased internal and external accessibility to the cloud and other valuable data and analytics
• Better optimization of your business model, operating model and business function

This new dimension will increase even more with the interconnection of everything and more actionable intelligence opportunities.

Working with AIM on Your Organization’s Digital Journey

Our team at AIM Consulting consists of experienced and knowledgeable experts in technology specializations like cloud operations, application development, data and analytics, delivery leadership, and digital experience and mobile. When working with an organization on its digital transformation, our consultants follow a specific five-step process: evaluate, envision, elaborate, enable and effect. Each step is based on a customer’s needs, wants, and desired outcomes regarding digitizing operations or structure of an organization. The end product results in an innovation-powered, analytics-based and cloud-enabled transformed state of the enterprise.

With digital transformation, it’s important to prioritize client goals when determining the scope of their digitization journey. Our consultants closely examine the “what, why, and who” of every client’s digital journey. At AIM, our strategy starts with determining an organization’s pain points, then their needs. Instead of solely bringing in our vision of how to help a company, we strive to collaborate effectively with each client to deliver an individualized, specific, and thorough digital transformation.

Every company is different. We understand there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to digital transformation—it needs to be accomplished through meticulous and fundamental changes particular to each organization or project. Want to learn more about how AIM Consulting can bring your organization up to speed with the rest of the digital world? Let’s talk!