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Digital transformation permeates all the business spheres now. It is not just an optional process but has become a matter of survival for enterprises. According to the latest research, 9 of 10 business owners think they will need to change their business model and introduce new technologies.
At the same time, when managers start to go digital, they realize that it’s quite a complex process. Choosing the DT strategy may cause a lot of confusion. It happens due to the variety of technologies and approaches to the process. The 2020 pandemic added even more urgency to it. Here are the percentages of various spheres whose DTs were sped up greatly by the recent events.
To help you navigate through the sophisticated digital transformation technologies and choose exactly what you need, we created a little digital transformation guide. In the guide, we will tell you about the most powerful technologies for business and give you the keys to their successful implementation.
What is Digital Transformation?
Let’s start with a brief account of the Digital Transformation term and its role in modern business.
Digital transformation (DT) is a cyclic process of technological upgrades and the introduction of related processes and services. In general, digital transformation is the shift in the business image that happens under the influence of the digital age. Mainly, DT impacts customer experience, business operations, and business culture.
The Value of Digital Transformation
We will review the positive impact of digital transformation in the three dimensions of business we’ve mentioned above.
Enhances Customer Experience
Various technologies and devices have become an integral part of human everyday life. This fact changed the way people get services and their expectations from those who provide them. Therefore, digital transformation allows businesses to comply with the new customer requirements.
The vital part of DT in customer experience is the social media presence of a business. It provides customers with omnichannel support, makes them familiar with the product, and raises business awareness. What’s more, various Big Data tools help to analyze customer behavior patterns and sentiments. Afterward, you can make valuable insights and build an effective product/marketing strategy.
What’s more, digital transformation technologies enhance delivery services, making it more fast, transparent, and safe.
Streamlines Business Operations
It’s hard to overestimate the influence of digital transformation on business production processes and internal operations. First of all, DT deals with workforce empowerment. There are many technologies that make your employees perform their tasks faster and better. The spectrum is wide, starting with simple PCs and ends with advanced AI tools.
Apart from the employees’ empowerment, DT transformation allows automating multiple business processes. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a must for manufacturing businesses now. All the industry 4.0 technologies free workers from repetitive tasks and facilitate performance.
Shifts Business Culture
Then, DT has an enormous impact on the business culture and inner life. One of the instances is closer and faster communication between business departments. The communication results in better management, cohesion between the departments, and, eventually, better business performance. Such software tools as Slack and Google Workspace can transform the internal cooperation of your company.
Best digital transformation technologies
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI is a digital simulation of human intelligence that is capable of performing natural language processing, machine vision, learning, speech recognition, and other functions. The capabilities of AI are expanding continuously, making it more capable to do human work. We can say that this technology is the grail of digital transformation cause it can coordinate the work of other DT technologies. Also, it influences multiple spheres of business.
Artificial intelligence can participate in problem-solving, planning, learning, and natural language processing. Above that, the capabilities of AI can be useful for security purposes as it can recognize systems' behavior patterns and spot anomalies. Face/voice recognition features serve as the protection mechanisms for business-related and customers’ sensitive data.
Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT is the technology that connects all kinds of devices and machinery through the Internet. This technology makes it possible to track the human and machine health parameters via special sensors and send the info to the connected devices. Technology has a great influence on digital transformation that we will discuss in the next section.
Robotics
Robots are the machines with advanced intelligence that can imitate human behavior and perform human tasks. We live in a marvelous time when the wildest dreams of sci-fi writers are becoming reality. Robotics is one of those technologies that stepped out of the book pages to assist humans live more easily and achieve their goals faster. Primarily, robots help to streamline human work by performing the most difficult or dangerous tasks.
Virtual Reality (VR)
Virtual Reality is a simulation of a real-world or hypothetical situation in the digital world. A person who uses it can have an intense experience of certain circumstances, interacting with objects and characters. Currently, the technology has evolved so you can not only see and hear the simulation but feel the tactile sensations and physical characteristics of a digital world. The technology includes VR headsets, outfits, and special environments with sensors.
Virtual reality has many types that differ in the depth of the simulation experience: non-immersive, semi-immersive, fully-immersive, augmented reality, and collaborative virtual reality.
Blockchain
Blockchain is an open and distributed ledger that makes the data transactions inside the system almost impossible to hack. For example, to hack Bitcoin (replace the info block with your own) you need to have more computing power than all the bitcoin-mining computers. This high level of security is possible due to the proof-of-work (PoW) security mechanism. Obviously, it’s almost impossible to break through such defence because bitcoin mining consumes as much energy as a small country.
It would be fair to say that not all blockchain technologies are trustworthy and deserve your attention. However, the technology can make a business more secure, transparent and facilitate a large number of processes (documents’ transactions & signing, financial operations, order tracking, etc.).
When to use those technologies
Digital transformation technologies have an enormous application field. In this section, we will name the areas that were influenced by them more.
IoT
Logistics
IoT sensors are disrupting the logistics industry. It makes preventive vehicle maintenance, fuel consumption tracking, and even real-time driver’s health-check possible. Eventually, you save money on maintenance, fuel and eliminate accidents.
Manufacturing (Industry 4.0)
In manufacturing, the connection of the machinery is vital for coherent production. IoT sensors can improve employees’ safety, set the machinery engagement timing on the production line, and track its health parameters.
Healthcare
IoT assists medical workers to track the patient’s state 24/7 and get as accurate info as possible. Various sensors track different health parameters and send the info on other devices that can display it comprehensively. That’s how the informed usage of IoT in healthcare industry can save lives by signalling doctors and enabling them to take immediate actions.
Energetics
Energy production/consumption tracking and the powerline load. As a result, it enhances energetic business management and prevents overloads that can damage businesses’ infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence
Manufacturing
Unsurprisingly, the manufacturing industry is the leader in AI technology implementation. Here, AI automates multiple work processes, predicts machinery malfunctions, and controls the quality of products.
Finance & Banking
AI can perform multiple financial functions. For instance, it can receive and process hundreds of loan requests, saving thousands of human hours. Also, the technology increases banking security when you train it to detect various kinds of fraud (financial documentation, fake ID, currencies, etc.).
Retailing & E-commerce
Improved customer experience is one of the main benefits of AI in the industries. AI helps to personalize customer interactions with a business, based on statistical information. Apart from that, customer behaviour learning allows managers to build more effective marketing strategies.
Healthcare
AI in healthcare can diagnose the patient more accurately, using the vast knowledge bases and tracking the smallest changes in the patient's state. Then, it takes part in the treatment selection, taking into account all the allergies and the associated conditions. You can see it as a digital House MD, but without such a brilliant sense of humor.
Robotics
Healthcare
Robotics surgery is a brand-new trend in the healthcare industry. Robots are capable of performing extremely difficult surgeries with absolute precision. Also, advanced robots can take care of the patients, giving them medicine in time and making other helpful actions.
Manufacturing
Robots can create products instead of humans. They are especially valuable in performing dangerous or health-damaging tasks.
Agriculture
Farmers use robots to reduce costs and increase productivity. Robots can participate in seed planting, watering, harvesting, animal care, and other farming activities. In addition, they can perform advanced analytics of the plant/animal state and inform a farm manager about any problem as soon as it shows up.
Virtual reality
Healthcare
VR is used to treat people’s mental issues. It is effective in PTSD and anxiety treatment. The simulations of certain triggering situations help patients to deal with them in real life.
Gaming & Entertainment
Certainly, virtual reality is the next generation of human entertainment tools. The technology offers a whole another level of immersion into a video game or a show. It can give the 360-grade view of the environment and the ability to interact with virtual objects or other humans, participating in a simulation.
Education
VR tools can enhance the educational process big time. As long as the best teacher is the direct experience, virtual reality is one of the best educational tools we have nowadays. With VR, you can simulate any real-life situation and practice your knowledge. Also, you can learn something in the quest-like simulations and exchange knowledge with other learners from any part of the world.
Architecture & Design
The simulations of buildings and rooms are changing the way architects and designers do their job. VR tools help them to have a detailed image of what the building will look like inside and outside and even feel the touch of the material they are going to use. This technology assists to eliminate all the possible planning and design mistakes.
Blockchain
Banking & Finance
Surely, blockchain is more essential for the banking industry. It offers extremely fast transactions worldwide with little fees, depending on the system you use. Also, it can offer a high level of asset security during currency transfers and deposits. World-class banks like Santander are already implementing blockchain solutions to improve their financial operations and present better service.
Healthcare
Yes, blockchain is helpful in the healthcare sector too. It concerns health data security. Blockchain algorithms (PoW, cryptography) we’ve mentioned protect data from any kind of theft or leak.
Law enforcement & Notary services
Apart from encryption and financial operation, blockchain offers smart contract features that can serve as a notary confirmation. Furthermore, transparency makes all the financial and non-financial transactions transparent that eases the work of the law departments.
Summary
Now you know 5 top-notch digital transformation technologies and are ready to apply them correctly. There’s no sense in waiting for a better moment to upgrade your business anymore. Moreover, every minute you hesitate is a minute of wasted opportunities that you could have with the new digital tools. So, take this guide and make the first step towards the new version of your business!
P.S. If you feel the need for professional help and advice, feel free to call us. Akveo is ready to receive your call any time of the day and has offices in the USA, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. We help businesses on every step of digital transformation and create custom mobile/web applications, implement new technologies and software.
Lead Generation Tool to Reduce Manual Work
Our client, Afore Capital, a venture capital firm focused on pre-seed investments, aimed to automate their lead generation processes but struggled with existing out-of-the-box solutions. To tackle this challenge, they sought assistance from our team of Akveo Retool experts.
The scope of work
The client needed a tailored solution to log and track inbound deals effectively. They required an application that could facilitate the addition, viewing, and editing of company and founder information, ensuring data integrity and preventing duplicates. Additionally, Afore Capital aimed to integrate external tools like PhantomBuster and LinkedIn to streamline data collection.
The result
By developing a custom Retool application, we streamlined the lead generation process, significantly reducing manual data entry. The application enabled employees to manage inbound deals efficiently while automated workflows for email parsing, notifications, and dynamic reporting enhanced operational efficiency. This allowed Afore Capital's team to focus more on building relationships with potential founders rather than on administrative tasks.
Learn more about the case
Retool CMS Application for EdTech Startup
Our client, CutTime, a leading fine arts education management platform, needed a scalable CMS application to improve vendor product management and user experience.
The scope of work
We developed a Retool application that allows vendors to easily upload and manage product listings, handle inventory, and set shipping options. The challenge was to integrate the app with the client’s system, enabling smooth authentication and product management for program directors.
The result
Our solution streamlined product management, reducing manual work for vendors, and significantly improving operational efficiency.
Building Reconciliation Tool for e-commerce company
Our client was in need of streamlining and simplifying its monthly accounting reconciliation process – preferably automatically. But with a lack of time and low budget for a custom build, development of a comprehensive software wasn’t in the picture. After going through the case and customer’s needs, we decided to implement Retool. And that was the right choice.
The scope of work
Our team developed a custom reconciliation tool designed specifically for the needs of high-volume transaction environments. It automated the processes and provided a comprehensive dashboard for monitoring discrepancies and anomalies in real-time.
The implementation of Retool significantly reduced manual effort, as well as fostered a more efficient and time-saving reconciliation process.
Creating Retool Mobile App for a Wine Seller
A leading spirits and wine seller in Europe required the development of an internal mobile app for private client managers and administrators. The project was supposed to be done in 1,5 months. Considering urgency and the scope of work, our developers decided to use Retool for swift and effective development.
The scope of work
Our developers built a mobile application tailored to the needs of the company's sales force: with a comprehensive overview of client interactions, facilitated order processing, and enabled access to sales history and performance metrics. It was user-friendly, with real-time updates, seamlessly integrated with existing customer databases.
The result? Increase in productivity of the sales team and improved decision-making process. But most importantly, positive feedback from the customers themselves.
Developing PoC with Low Code for a Tour Operator
To efficiently gather, centralize, and manage data is a challenge for any tour operator. Our client was not an exception. The company was seeking to get an internal software that will source information from third-party APIs and automate the travel itinerary creation process. Preferably, cost- and user-friendly tool.
The scope of work
Our experts ensured the client that all the requirements could be covered by Retool. And just in 40 hours a new software was launched. The tool had a flexible and easy-to-use interface with user authentication and an access management system panel – all the company needed. At the end, Retool was considered the main tool to replace the existing system.
Testing New Generation of Lead Management Tool with Retool
Our client, a venture fund, had challenges with managing lead generation and client acquisition. As the company grew, it aimed to attract more clients and scale faster, as well as automate the processes to save time, improve efficiency and minimize human error. The idea was to craft an internal lead generation tool that will cover all the needs. We’ve agreed that Retool will be a perfect tool for this.
The scope of work
The project initially began as a proof of concept, but soon enough, with each new feature delivered, the company experienced increased engagement and value.
We developed a web tool that integrates seamlessly with Phantombuster for data extraction and LinkedIn for social outreach. Now, the company has a platform that elevates the efficiency of their lead generation activities and provides deep insights into potential client bases.
Building an Advanced Admin Portal for Streamlined Operations
Confronted with the need for more sophisticated internal tools, an owner of IP Licensing marketplace turned to Retool to utilize its administrative functions. The primary goal was to construct an advanced admin portal that could support complex, multi-layered processes efficiently.
The scope of work
Our client needed help with updating filters and tables for its internal platform. In just 30 hours we've been able to update and create about 6 pages. Following features were introduced: add complex filtering and search, delete records, styling application with custom CSS.
Together, we have increased performance on most heavy pages and fixed circular dependency issues.
Creating MVP Dashboard for Google Cloud Users
Facing the challenge of unoptimized cloud resource management, a technology firm working with Google Cloud users was looking for a solution to make its operations more efficient. The main idea of the project was to create an MVP for e-commerce shops to test some client hypotheses. Traditional cloud management tools fell short.
The scope of work
Determined to break through limitations, our team of developers turned Retool. We decided to craft an MVP Dashboard specifically for Google Cloud users. This wasn't just about bringing data into view; but about reshaping how teams interact with their cloud environment.
We designed a dashboard that turned complex cloud data into a clear, strategic asset thanks to comprehensive analytics, tailored metrics, and an intuitive interface, that Retool provides. As the results, an increase in operational efficiency, significant improvement in cost management and resource optimization.
Elevating CRM with Custom HubSpot Sales Dashboard
Our other client, a SaaS startup, that offers collaborative tools for design and engineering teams, was on a quest to supercharge their sales efforts. Traditional CRM systems were limited and not customizable enough. The company sought a solution that could tailor HubSpot to their workflow and analytics needs.
The scope of work
Charged with the task of going beyond standard CRM functions, our team turned to Retool. We wanted to redefine how sales teams interact with their CRM.
By integrating advanced analytics, custom metrics, and a user-friendly interface, our developers provided a solution that transformed data into a strategic asset.
In 40 hours, three informative dashboards were developed, containing the most sensitive data related to sales activities. These dashboards enable our customer to analyze sales and lead generation performance from a different perspective and establish the appropriate KPIs.
Building a PDF Editor with Low-Code
Our client, a leading digital credential IT startup, needed a lot of internal processes to be optimized. But the experience with low-code tools wasn’t sufficient. That’s why the company decided to hire professionals. And our team of developers joined the project.
The scope of work
The client has a program that designs and prints custom badges for customers. The badges need to be “mail-merged” with a person’s info and turned into a PDF to print. But what is the best way to do it?
Our developers decided to use Retool as a core tool. Using custom components and JavaScript, we developed a program that reduced employees' time for designing, putting the data, verifying, and printing PDF badges in one application.
As a result, the new approach significantly reduces the time required by the internal team to organize all the necessary staff for the conference, including badge creation.
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