Digital Transformation Growth in 2024

Apr 10

“There is no alternative to digital transformation. Visionary companies will carve out new strategic options for themselves; those that don’t adapt will fail.”

- Jeff Bezos, Head of Amazon

One process has been a part of history's greatest businesses. From the semiconductors powering consumer electronics that changed the world to AI that predicts consumer behavior and automates complex processes, businesses all understood that to survive, you must adapt to this process:

Digital Transformation.

Corporations have long known the power of digital transformation. Automating business processes started with the Industrial Revolution and scaled with the creation of the Internet. Jeff Bezos pioneered digital transformation in his own company with the launch of AWS, providing businesses of all sizes with access to scalable computing resources.

Fortunately, this tool is available to all of us, as long as we can embrace change and encourage innovation. It may not make you the next business tycoon like Jeff Bezos, but it will increase efficiency, increase business agility, and improve employee productivity.

This piece will briefly address the growth of digital transformation in the United States, providing a “digital transformation guide” for you to follow and proposing a guide to embracing automation by the end of the year.

Digital Transformation Growth:

“In 2024, digital transformation growth will explode, with an expected worldwide expenditure to reach 3.4 trillion by 2026.”

- International Data Corporation

Digital transformation has grown 23.5% in the past 5 years, and AI adoption is accelerating this growth even faster. As time goes on and manual processes are deemed “a thing of the past,” how will employees adapt to the growth of digital transformation?

Here’s a list of how digital transformation has impacted a few industries and will allow you to gain deeper insights into how it will affect your own. This should help you better understand how businesses adapt to a digital world and prepare for industry-wide change.

U.S. Digital Transformation Growth

Gartner is expecting the retail industry to increase spending on big data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It is estimated that 63% of the industry focuses on big data and 35% on AI.

Forbes has elaborated that in the next 5–10 years, jobs with manual processes such as insurance underwriting, warehouse and manufacturing, and customer service are expected to be completely automated.

What does digital transformation do?

Digital transformation has two different parts.

Digitization: The translating of analog (non-digital) information into a digital form.
Digitalization: Using software to change business processes designed to make work more efficient.

You’ve seen everyday mom-and-pop shops adapting from cash registers to POS systems. Everyday manual tasks are being automated to optimize business processes. Now zoom out and think of whole departments and manual jobs that major corporations could automate.

Why is digital transformation necessary?

Now I know what you’re thinking. “This probably means people will lose their jobs!” The answer is more complicated than that simple statement. Certain jobs will cease to exist because they will have to adapt to the integration of technology and will fundamentally change.

This is not a bad thing. Incorporating business automation will:

Increase efficiency
Increase business agility
Improve employee productivity

But a workforce that cannot adapt is a business that cannot adapt.

The reskilling of employees will be a major factor in industries that have traditionally utilized manual tasks. This will be a major component of why businesses cease to exist. Digital transformation is happening, and businesses that don't follow suit will be at a significant competitive disadvantage.

How do I prepare for digital transformation?

Businesses that are looking for ways to improve efficiency and automate manual workflows must progress forward slowly. As businesses adapt their systems to technology, they must also reskill their employees to follow suit. You must remember that the work done by a business is only as good as the employees within it.

A business that is able to listen to their employee's feedback and adjust as needed will be key. Digital transformation were six times more likely to succeed if a Chief Digital Officer was employed at the organization. Having a key figure in place to analyze the translation of skills and aligning business processes will provide insight into your business's transition.

The next step

To stay ahead of the curve, you must incorporate a process for analyzing your business.

Here are the 4 main steps:

Discovery
Business Analysis
Solution Design
Agile Development

If you would like a step-by-step guide to business automation, then check out this blog on how automation can save your business.

Kyler Stocks