The Trends Delineating the Future of Digital Transformation
Spending on digital transformation will continue to grow. According to IDC, the global investment in digital transformation is all set to grow at a compound rate of 17.1% per annum and will reach a staggering $2.3 trillion (52% of all ICT spending) by 2023.
The biggest spenders in the digital transformation space will be the United States, followed by Europe and then China, and China is predicted to overtake Europe by 2023.
Financial services (encompassing banking, insurance, security, and investment) will witness the highest digital transformation outlay of any industry. Enormous investments are being made in robotic manufacturing and it’s anticipated to grow within the next 3 years.
The future of digital transformation looks amazingly bright in the light of the following opportunities:
The Internet of Things (IoTs) Will Provide Significant Opportunities
The number of IoT-connected devices will surge to 43 billion by 2023 according to McKinsey (an almost threefold increase from 2018).
This surge in growth fueled in large part by lower costs of sensor technology represents a massive opportunity for the manufacturing industry, boosting production flows through enhanced visibility of shop floor and field operations, as well as, the manufacturing supply chain, and remote and outsourced operations.
An Amalgamation of Humanized and Technological Approach Will Help Organizations Go A Long Way
The true enablement of digital transformation would be possible only when the technology and people come together. Not enough people in the workplace right now have the desired skills to leverage the digital capabilities to their fullest potential.
Skill gaps are really something that are bothering managers and many of them think that bridging the skill gaps is critical to digital transformation.
According to research by Gartner, 64% of managers think their employees will be unable to keep pace with the digital transformation as they don’t possess the requisite skill sets.
Skill shortages are amongst the biggest barriers to digital transformation.
AI and Machine Learning (ML) will Revolutionize the Realm of B2B Marketing
According to research by Accenture, AI-powered technologies will help boost productivity in manufacturing by an astonishing 40% by the year 2025.
The ambitious application of AI & Machine learning is though confined and achieving only limited growth because of some constraints.
Research by Manufacturer.com reveals that 92% of the senior manufacturing executives see ‘Smart Factory’ digital technologies as the ultimate enabler; however, only a mere 12% of the manufacturers seem to be making significant use of artificial intelligence (AI).
The Bare-Metal Solutions will Continue to be Dominated by XaaS (Everything as a Service)
Companies can increasingly look to cloud-based, third-party applications and services that can work for them. This can be a temporary fix for upskilling current employees or hiring from a shrinking (and increasingly expensive) labor pool.
With the XaaS approach comes financial efficiency, improved productivity, more robust cyber-security, greater agility, and flexibility without the burden of building and managing the on-prem solutions.
The 5G Ramp-Up Will Supercharge Digital Transformation
Once the 5G technology hits and takes over, the impact of the digital transformation industry will be immense, driving rapid advances in smart cities, smart vehicles, smart manufacturing, and IoT-intensive technologies hungry for 5G and its unprecedented data transfer competencies.
AI Will Fill the IT Skills Gap
According to a survey by CNBC, 40% of employers believe that AI will assist marketers in upcoming skill gaps.
Also, adopting artificial intelligence means that doing mundane daily tasks will be much cheaper.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will allow companies to employ a smaller number of developers to focus on strategic, forward-thinking challenges instead of getting bogged down by endless, menial coding.
Omnichannel Reputation Management will be Strengthened Provided Privacy Concerns are Taken Care of
With the accelerated proliferation of digital transformation, companies have got a chance to build on and strengthen their omnichannel reputation management frameworks.
Companies can interact with their potential customers across multiple channels by leveraging a variety of reputation management tools and can amplify their experiences to build and strengthen their omnichannel reputation management frameworks.
However, cybersecurity remains a big concern. It will provide a key competitive advantage for companies that are willing to invest in the space and are able to communicate their security and privacy policies to the customers.
Modern Martech Tools will be Used More
Innovative companies will invest in the hottest and latest technologies. Martech tools will play a prominent part in this. Embracing the latest Martech tools will facilitate marketers to drive their bottom line goals faster and will facilitate them to spend their money better.
Wrap Up
Back in the year, 2019 Forrester labeled the year 2019 as the year when "digital transformation went pragmatic" and this trend will proliferate and continue in the year 2020 & beyond.
CIOs are reverting to first principles, building strategies on long-lasting foundations, and prioritizing the achievement & advancement of business goals over other attractive addendums.