When discussing the tech breakthroughs that have transformed industries, it's common to hear leaders speak of undergoing a "digital transformation." While the idea of digital transformation has powerful implications for leaders and their employees, the reality is that it is already an outmoded way of thinking.
Instead, businesses of all sizes must be focused on their ongoing digital evolution. With the right mindset and approach, you can mindfully guide your business as it grows in its technology use.
What's the difference between digital evolution and digital transformation?
Digital transformation has become a buzzword in the business world. Still, it comes down to one core thing: using technology to optimize your business -- from internal operations to customer-facing activities. This must be done in a way that helps the business become more efficient and profitable thanks to a value-added solution.
Notably, when discussing digital transformation, many entrepreneurs describe it as a "fundamental change" to how the business operates and delivers value. Quite often, this is necessary as businesses replace outdated work methods with more efficient digital counterparts. Unfortunately, this often leads to a massive, one-time expenditure that fails to deliver sustainable, long-term results.
This is where digital evolution comes in. As Greig Johnston argues in an article for Personnel Today, digital evolution focuses on evolving what a business already has rather than "starting over" with a complete transformation. The goal is to help digital evolution occur at a steady, manageable pace that enables a culture change in how a business approaches technology.
Why digital evolution matters today
In an interview, Deniz Yildirim, founder and CEO of Swedish tech consultancy tretton37, argues the digitalization mindset in the business world is changing. Leaders recognize that digitalization efforts deliver significant value to the organization. Understanding there is no one-size-fits-all solution can help companies unlock revenue streams and save costs. It is more effective to focus on existing assets and build on them.
This means that digital can't be viewed as a "one and done" operation or an afterthought. It must become an ongoing point of emphasis prioritized by all stakeholders within the business.
To achieve this, businesses must have a mindset of continual refinement and improvement -- not only when it comes to keeping up with technology itself, but also when it comes to their stakeholders. A culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and growth becomes more crucial.
This culture allows a company to continuously increase its competitive advantage while reducing its costs and improving its standing among its customers.
How to embrace digital evolution
What can you do to ensure that your organization fully embraces the idea of digital evolution? Developing a clear plan for how you will use technology is the first step.
With both short- and long-term goals, as well as relevant KPIs to track the outcomes of your digital evolution efforts, you can ensure that your efforts are on track.
Digital evolution must also become a core part of your business culture. Encouraging your team members to stay on the lookout for new tools and solutions, and to be willing to experiment with new resources, can help you better integrate new tech -- especially for data.
Of course, collaboration with strong strategic partners can be invaluable during your ongoing evolution, especially in areas such as cybersecurity and data analytics. Having a trusted guide to help you navigate this process can make all the difference for long-term success.
Embracing a digital future the right way
All too often, we think of embracing digital as a way to completely upend the old way of doing things. This occurs even with companies that have already gone digital -- they toss out old programs and systems as soon as the next shiny new thing comes along.
Businesses that adopt a more strategic approach to technology adoption will be better able to find solutions that serve their employees and customers. Moreover, they can do so in a more cost- and energy-efficient manner, evolving and pivoting to achieve the best outcomes over time.
BY HEATHER WILDE, CTO, THEDIFFERENCE@HEATHRIEL
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