Digital transformation is more than just an industry buzzword. Here's what it means for businesses.
Digital transformation is one of the tech's top buzzwords; however, the concept now proliferates through all industries. With the enterprise on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, organizations are making huge investments in digital advancements.
Four out of five IT professionals consider digital transformation a necessity for the survival of a business, according to a recent Masergy report. Companies are turning to digital transformation efforts to enhance the customer experience, remain competitive in their industry, and boost productivity and efficiency, the report found.
"Digital transformation standardizes platforms to allow for easy, real-time access to data to assist in driving the business by improving efficiencies and enhancing customer experiences," said Pam Feeney, sales operations manager at Keystone Partners.
These initiatives focus on incorporating data, data science, and software solutions into business operations, said Maria Colacurcio, CEO of Syndio.
The Masergy report outlined this year's top investments in digital transformation for companies. These areas include cloud migration for IT, improves security, data analytics, and software defined networks.
However, actions like moving to the cloud aren't what defines digital transformation, said Brendan Caulfield, cofounder at ServerCentral Turing Group. In reality, "these overused terms and buzzwords" label digital transformation efforts as simply the most current tech fads in the enterprise, rather than evolving projects, he added.
Unfortunately, the answer isn't cut and dry, Caulfield said. There isn't a blanket statement definition of the term, like most people think. "It's going to be highly individualized company by company," he said.
"There's a whole lot of consistency," Caulfield added. "There's some companies that jump all in, and it's going to be a massive change, and there's some companies that think digital transformation is akin to moving from on-premise email to Office 365.
