Certainly, digital transformation is not a new organizational movement. The term has been in the corporate bloodstream since the emergence of the Internet in the 90s and the smartphone in the 2000s. For most organizations, it’s a concept that’s long moved from the whiteboard into daily operations. From online storefronts to customer-relationship-management platforms to enterprise-resource-planning software to virtual training to content management, the shift from paper to code is well underway.
Check out some numbers (surely higher now) from a pre-COVID survey on digital transformation by Forbes in December 2019:
- 70% of companies either have a digital transformation strategy in place or are working on one.
- 50% of marketers around the world say driving growth through digital transformation is their top strategic focus.
- The top sectors thinking digital first are services (95%), financial services (93%) and healthcare (92%).
- 60% of companies that have undergone a digital transformation have created new business models.
- 65% of organizations view their digital transformation progress as a competitive advantage.
Clearly, the binary initiative has evolved from aspiration to essential. Now comes the next stage: integrating AI. Digital transformation has made information, the lifeblood of organizations, instantly accessible. The savviest companies are leveraging AI-powered tools to put data to work. Some results from McKinsey’s 2022 Global Survey on AI:
- AI adoption has doubled since 2017.
- User organizations are devoting more budget to AI in concert with its adoption.
- Top performers using AI continue to pull ahead of competitors through key investments and scaling enterprise-wide.
- Companies successfully using AI are 1.6 times more likely to engage non-technical employees to create applications.
- The most common AI applications involve operations optimization, creating new products/services and customer service.
Today, automated decisioning performs most of the globe’s loan originations, credit- and gift-card fraud detection, and loyalty promotions among many other functions. Process automation flawlessly executes inventory, product fulfillment, HR onboarding and many more detailed tasks. Machine learning enhances sales, marketing and forecasting efforts and provides invaluable R&D support. So yes, digital transformation does indeed have a new beginning and AI power is it.
Advancing down the path toward impactful automation integration involves multiple facets, as well as potential pitfalls and setbacks. For those ready to embark on the next stage of digital transformation, InRule presents a new white paper covering key factors in making the journey a happy one.
Advancing Digital Transformation Through Automation, A Working Guide covers central aspects of launching an AI-powered digital transformation project, including determining a prime target, staffing a team, choosing the right technologies, common mistakes and keys to success. Download it today and get a head start on your next operational journey.
