How Oracle Cloud Can Contribute to Your Digital Transformation Success
The word digital transformation is often used interchangeably with digitization and digitalization. While digitization refers to the process of transferring information from its manual form to digital form, digitalization involves using digital technology to handle activities we do regularly using improved methods that yield more positive outcomes.
It is through digitalization that we now have digital transformation. Digital transformation refers to the process through which people use technology, processes, and people to improve their business forward in new ways.
Generally, digital transformation is driven by a person’s ability to preserve resources and create a better life for citizens. It helps businesses and different organizations generate better results by connecting them to people, places, and things.
There is no digital transformation without technology which is why you need to choose the most suitable technology to achieve your desired goal. From augmented and virtual reality, AI, networking capabilities, the Internet of Things (IoT), video-based analytics, machine learning, clouds, and beyond, digital transformation includes a wide variety of technology.
Elements of digital transformation
Beyond looking for the best way to use technology for a positive outcome, there are so many strategic approaches to digital transformation. Here are three foundational elements of digital transformation.
The cognitive element
Digital transformation involves the use of machine learning and AI for data analysis, which leads to the cognitive and thinking element of digital transformation. The rise in this technology changes the way data scientists and analysts drive the need for expert-level knowledge workers.
The physical element
Because digital transformation involves the use of technology to transfer businesses from manual to digital processes, it can be said to have a physical element. Generally, transmitting from recordkeeping using papers to a computerized way of collecting data involves the use of robotics, machine learning, and AI, including the installation of data sensors used for transmitting data, which are common examples of physical transformation.
The cultural element
The cultural elements of digital transformation involve the use of human beings as resources to act and react in a certain way within their environment. With the existence of new technologies and smart machines, the role of workers changes to accommodate technology-enabled processes and capabilities. Everyone must understand the significance of digital transformation so they can make a change and create a better foundation for success.
How the cloud affects digital transformation
In technology, the cloud plays an important role in the type of agility it provides. This goes a long way to address common challenges that exist in digital transformation like the cost factor and integration of infrastructure.
With cloud, you have the speed and flexibility needed to outpace the competition and quicken your transformation all within your scope and budget.
Steps to guide digital transformation
The success of any digital transformation begins with strategic planning; however, there are certain factors you should consider before you begin your journey. These factors when put in place will enable your employees and customers to benefit from the process. Here are a few steps to guide you through this strategic planning.
1. Identify your vision
The first step in digital transformation is to discover your vision. The goal here is to identify your reasons for the transformation including the results you want to achieve. Doing this will provide a smooth flow to guide you through the other steps you should take.
2. Develop your digital journey process
You must be able to develop a blueprint of how the use of digital technology relates to your journey and what difference these technologies will make in helping you achieve your final goal. You should map this digital journey whether you want to transform manufacturing operations or you want to create a better experience for customers.
3. Perform a personal assessment on digital maturity
To see how far your business leverages digital capabilities and the areas and processes that need improvement in technology, you should perform a digital maturity assessment. Moreover, this assessment will help you determine the best environment for your transformation.
4. Review your digital capacities
The goal here is to identify current gaps that exist in digital infrastructure to help you choose the right technology that fits into these gaps. To achieve this you should develop a model for people, data, processes, and tools to work using one integrated platform. This will ensure that everyone plays a role in achieving the desired goal with speed and agility.
5. Design your transformation roadmap
You need a concise, clear, and actionable roadmap to help you define what structure is most suitable for maximizing value, and reducing the risk and cost used to achieve transformational initiatives. It will also allow you to create room for changing priorities and flexibility as new technologies emerge.
6. Use cloud applications to hasten your digital vision
Thankfully, there are several cloud applications with built-in, future-ready, and end-to-end business processes that can be used to help you stay updated with new developments. These cloud applications will not only help you accelerate your business growth but will also provide a complete, transformation process.
How Oracle perceives the digital transformation process
Over time, Oracle put into practice its mastery of digital transformation and cloud technologies. As a result, Oracle successfully transformed its internal operations.
Through the implementation of Oracle Cloud, Oracle became an end-to-end cloud provider and enterprise that shares its experiences for the benefit of others. To achieve this digital transformation process, here are four building blocks of experience implemented by Oracle across the business.
- Reduce remove and simplify employees and customer experience
- Enable employees and customers autonomously complete their personalized experiences
- Create a positive experience so that employees and customers want to come back for more
- Use Oracle Cloud to create an end-to-end experience as much as possible using automation.
Conclusion
Almost every business can benefit from digital transformation by creating value for employees, customers, and partners. These technologies are changing the way people live, work and play. It is important to implement digital transformations that not only target business challenges but also address strategic objectives for the success of your business.