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Unlocking Growth: The Essential Role of Digital Transformation in Modern Business :: Smart software engineering
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Exploring Digital Transformation Trends in Different Industries

Reading time: ~8 mins

Worldwide spending on digital transformation technologies is growing at a rapid pace. Just last year, in 2023, this expense reached over $1.85 trillion in industry resources. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are waking up to the benefits and flexibility of having a new digital strategy based on evolving technology to improve operations.
The trick is finding the specific service most likely to help your business culture and tech stack. Around 89% of larger companies already utilize a digital or AI-backed digital transformation, but only 31% have experienced revenue growth. There is an inefficiency without the right tools leveraged by experienced teams that can walk you through the process.

An excellent place to begin with new tech initiatives is to look at how the trends are affecting different industries. Here are some examples to help guide your upcoming business transformation.

Why is Digital Transformation Crucial to Business Operations?

Digital transformation may have become a “buzzword” in some circles, but it is a crucial competitive advantage for business operations. Companies are recognizing a direct need to remain more agile and responsive to current technology-infused market changes. With the right set of tools integrated into regular operations, your company can experience benefits like:

  • Boosted Efficiency: Much of digital transformation revolves around automating routine and mundane tasks that would otherwise take up valuable time from your human assets.
  • Elevated Customer Experience: ML (machine learning), and data analytics tools allow businesses to provide a more personalized customer experience, resulting in faster service and anticipating future needs.
  • Cost Reduction: Cloud services and digital tools provide cost savings. The optimization of resources while minimizing waste and removing the need for manual intervention allows a business to scale quickly when necessary.
  • Better Decision-Making: Having data at your fingertips allows stakeholders in your business to make more informed decisions about where to make strategic changes and create new competitive advantages.
  • Increased Agility: Not only will your business have a responsive flexibility to market changes, but it will also be a way to anticipate new trends and potential beneficial processes due to automated data analysis.

Best of all, modern digital transformation technologies provide a change to your company culture. A new level of innovation and allowance for continuous improvement cultivates a place where change is not only accepted, but valued.

Trends in Industry Digital Transformation

The specific digital strategies you’ll find implemented in businesses vary based on the company and industry it is serving. While these variations are unique, it is important to see how different sectors evolve, as that could inform your future business needs.

#1 – Fintech

Fintech is best defined as innovative software or technologies supporting current and evolving banking and financial institutions. This is an industry expected to become a $1.5 trillion juggernaut by 2030.
The first trend in this industry is that digital transformation services provide access. Mobile banking, blockchain integrations, and cloud computing are opening new doors to the payment and receiving of funds.
Automated financial services simplify complex financial instruments like foreign exchange markets, crypto investing, and even the small business loan a startup in middle America requires to serve customers.
However, where real change is visible is in empowering consumers. Only a few taps of a smartphone allow the average person to pay for coffee, invest in new markets, open a crypto account, and secure a loan for a car. Robo-advisors offered a democratized view of investing, giving more access to those who want it.

#2 – Delivery & Logistics

Last-mile delivery and trucking are still the backbones of modern American commerce. These industries partner with global logistics providers to ensure the safe and accurate delivery of everything from a new holiday toy to the crucial medication a parent needs to care for a grandparent.
Companies like Lab 42 are introducing new digital transformation technologies like PandaBox to automate the delivery industry. This tool provides automation so anyone from a small restaurant or a pop-up grocery can scale. This includes integration with mobile applications and machine learning to weight-balance deliveries with the current fleet and available drivers.
On top of such automation security and real-time GPS tracking, items are safely monitored from the manufacturing point to the customer's doorstep.

#3 – Retail

There are over 1 million retail establishments in the United States. Imagine what that means on a global scale! People from all generations love to start SMEs with themed, niche, and essential items readily available for foot traffic consumers to purchase during a holiday or lunch break.
However, retail no longer means a brick-and-mortar shop you would visit for Christmas gifts. Ecommerce through active shopping cart websites that are mobile responsive to address the largest consumer blocks are changing how we browse, purchase, and receive goods.
It is common to see a retail competitor using online digital transformation tools like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) when shoppers wish to virtually “try on” different items. This could be an AR app so you can see how an outfit will look on your body or if a couch will fit in your living room.
Data analytics is also crucial in the retail industry. Personalization through gathered customer data empowers businesses to upsell new promotions, offer customized sales advertisements, and engage in more direct sales through email marketing.

#4 – Sports & Entertainment

The global pandemic took a chunk of growth out of the sporting and entertainment industries. Without the ability to have large groups of people in the same location, venues and clubs started looking for new and innovative ways to make up the difference.
One such digital strategy is using a tool like Sportex by Lab 42. A sports club, venue, or team can boost fan interaction and engagement through exclusive branding necessary for growth. These benefits may include:
Operating a live chat during and leading up to matches.
In-app trivia with games, holiday specials, and other engagement tools.
Virtual ecommerce shopping for merchandising revenue development.
Exclusive offers that boost attendance and engagement surrounding new and ongoing announcements.
And plenty more.
This flexibility allows legacy teams to engage younger audiences that rely on streaming and social media services for sporting news. Events can couple with such systems while still having a robust online and cloud-based presence perfect for capturing additional behavioral insights for growth continuity.

#5 – Hospitality

The hospitality systems of yesteryear provided a personalized and luxurious experience for most customers. However, the market is shifting, with the need for online booking systems, chatbots for FAQ and customer support, and mobile solutions at an all-time high.
Customers want to reserve, gain access to info, and have a smoother experience when booking with any hospitality-related business from airlines to hotels to touring companies. When your business leverages digital transformation tools, you meet the evolving expectations of modern travelers and gain new insights from data analytics collected during every interaction.
Digital transformation doesn’t just apply to the front end; it also applies to customer-facing elements of hospitality. Modern tools allow for streamlining backend office tasks, so more emphasis can be placed on building a memorable customer experience that encourages return business.

Final Thoughts

Industries must evolve to meet the personalized needs of today’s modern consumer. Digital transformation through innovative tools like those provided by Lab 42 and others ensures a flexible, responsive, and predictive benefit.
While there will be some growing pains ensuring legacy systems, data management, and cultural resistance to change need to be addressed, the potential revenue-generating benefits certainly incentivize change.
These industry examples are only a small sampling of what is possible with the right team behind your business. As you begin to dip your toes into the warm water of digital transformation technologies, be sure you work with experienced and skilled providers to help you navigate every step of the journey ahead.

 

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