Digital Transformation: The Key to Small Business Survival

While the pandemic has come with many uncertainties, we know one thing to be true: All businesses must evolve if they want to survive in this new world. COVID-19 has driven a large, fast paced digital transformation across the globe.

Old ways of collaborating at in-person team meetings and communicating at the office are quickly becoming obsolete as businesses have closed their office doors and employees have learned how to work remotely. Teams have adapted to new technologies for day to day operations and organizations have implemented new software to improve productivity and efficiency – not to mention strengthen cybersecurity methods!

Do you wish it was easier to text coworkers or host virtual meetings with clients? Is your digital storage not the most reliable or secure? Are you able to keep tabs on your physical location from home? Digital Transformation invites the opportunity to assess your current setup and find areas for improvement!

“The global pandemic has seen a huge rise in people working from home, shopping online, and generally being more digitally connected than ever. There are plenty of good things that have come from this but there is a lot of bad as well. One of the biggest issues is that cyberattacks have skyrocketed during this period, according to MonsterCloud. Cybercriminals have taken this opportunity to up their attacks, both in frequency and scope. The numbers are staggering and scary. The FBI recently reported that the number of complaints about cyberattacks to their Cyber Division is up to as many as 4,000 a day. That represents a  400% increase  from what they were seeing pre-coronavirus.” AP News

What is Digital Transformation?

“Digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance“, says George Westerman, MIT principal research scientist and author of Leading Digital: Turning Technology Into Business Transformation.

We understand that the idea of undergoing a Digital Transformation (DX) may sound daunting and scary, however it’s 100% necessary for business survival. Although most companies understand the importance of DX, many are overwhelmed by the idea of having to revamp their entire digital approach and wander aimlessly without knowing where to begin or what needs to change. However, if you don’t do anything, you’ll increase your company’s risk of being disrupted and replaced.

“The goal of a digital transformation is to use technology to solve traditional problems, which means integrating technology into every area of the business. When done right, digital transformation allows companies to provide unprecedented value to customers. Companies start a digital transformation, but it’s never truly over. A true digital transformation is a state of mind for a company to continually evolve and adopt new digital solutions internally and externally. ” Forbes

In fact, Digital Transformation is still the #1 driver for business growth in all organizations. According to our partners at VEEAM: “75% of all CEOs believe that Digital Transformation is the #1 activity to drive top-line revenue growth. There’s a lot of advantages when it comes to DX: from transforming customer service and delivering cost savings to modernizing business operations and processes.”

It’s been exciting to watch our network partners offer new solutions for digital transformation. Computers Nationwide strives to help our clients adopt new tools to thrive during the coronavirus and beyond…

Microsoft has shared: “We’ve reached an inflection point. As the global response to COVID-19 evolves, communities around the world have moved from an era of “remote everything” into a more hybrid model of work, learning, and life. And as we all scramble to keep up, the future of work and education is being shaped before our eyes. At Microsoft, we’ve spent the last few months learning from our customers and studying how they use our tools. We’ve also worked with experts across virtual reality, AI, and productivity research to help understand the future of work. These findings, which are published here, guide us as we design technology to help our customers today and in the future.”

They’ve announced a new features in Microsoft Teams that make virtual interactions more natural, more engaging, and ultimately, more human. “These features offer three key benefits for people at work and in education. First, they help you feel more connected with your team and reduce meeting fatigue. Second, they make meetings more inclusive and engaging. And third, they help streamline your work and save time. It’s all about enabling people everywhere to collaborate, to stay connected, and to discover new ways to be productive from anywhere.” Check out their new capabilities!

Our partners at 8×8 share: “Many remote workers had to quickly rearrange their houses to build workstations, scramble to secure childcare, and upgrade their aging headsets, monitors, and wireless keyboards to maintain productivity through the disruption. The one thing they didn’t have to worry about? Communication software. At 8×8, we leverage our own unified communications platform which combines voice, video and chat in one app, making it simple to shift from one channel to another depending on the task and conversation.

It’s no wonder that over two-thirds of organizations cite either technology hurdles or process problems as their biggest challenge to moving to remote work. 74% of organizations plan to permanently shift at least some employees to work from home. While Covid-19 necessitated short-term “band-aids”, we believe these will lead to long-term transformations in the way that employees collaborate with each other and interface with their customers.”

How Computers Nationwide Will Lead Your Business into a Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation is an ongoing process and it can look differently for every business depending on your organization’s unique needs. Trying new things can seem overwhelming, but the benefits that will come from these new practices will be long-lasting! COVID-19 has brought a mixed bag of surprises, positives, and negatives to all of us. In the midst of these unprecedented times, we see upgrading your business’ IT infrastructure as a major positive – now and for many years to come…

As your trusted Managed IT provider, here are a few ways we can set your company up for success:

• Improve Communication with Hosted VoIP and UCaaS

• Boost Physical Security with Access Control Systems

• Protect Remote Team Networks & Data with Cyber Security

• Upgrade Commercial Surveillance with Public Health in Mind

• Expand Offerings with E-Commerce Solutions

At Computers Nationwide, we’ll take a look at your company’s IT infrastructure and create the best plan to bring your organization to the next level as seamlessly as possible! We assure you that after learning a few new tools, your team will quickly see the benefits and can’t imagine going back to your old practices.

Call the IT experts at Computers Nationwide to find the right Managed IT solutions for your business: (847) 419-9900. Read about our Post-Coronavirus Procedures for Onsite Visits!