Do you remember where you were when the news about “15 days to stop the spread” came out? Maybe you were sitting at the desk in your office for the last time for the next 2 years. We all know that the COVID-19 pandemic forced people all over the world to adapt in the blink of an eye.
One of these powerful adaptations was digital transformation. The demand for digital transformation boomed during the onset of the pandemic due to the immediate need for professionals to work from home.
Never before had the need for digital tools and strategies been so strong, and this demand has created a reliance on digitization that no one saw coming.
If you’re concerned about how to keep up with the changing tides of technology, don’t worry. We’re going to cover why digitization is still a critical component of business success and how businesses can partner with IT professionals to streamline their digital transformation efforts, because digitization is here to stay.
It’s All About Customer Experience
With the stay-at-home policies in place for the last 2 years, all shopping and customer experiences moved online. A company’s digital storefront became a very important representation of a business’s products and values. This is where UX design (user experience design) comes in.
User experience is the sweet spot between business, technology, and design. The pandemic has fueled the popularity of some of these time and cost-effective UX tools:
Customer Relationship Management Tools (CRM)
A CRM system centralizes customer data so businesses can get a 360-degree view of their customers. CRM systems are essential for any business wanting to keep track of customer interactions and data.
A CRM system can help businesses track customer interactions across different channels, understand their needs, and nurture relationships. This allows businesses to provide a better customer experience and increase sales.
Analytics Tools
Analytics tools are essential for understanding customer behavior and improving the customer experience.
Analytics tools help businesses track customer behavior and understand how customers interact with their digital content. Analytics tools can help businesses identify trends, optimize their website for conversions, and track the results of their marketing campaigns.
All of these tools can make a significant impact on a company’s growth. They can be powerful tools, but they take the right expertise to really access their full potential. A managed IT provider can help you identify which programs are best and how to use them successfully.
Keeping Data Safe
As we just mentioned, an IT team or outsourced provider can help you optimize your digital tools. But digitization also comes with increased risks. With more data being stored online, there is an increased risk of data breaches and cyberattacks.
When everyone shifted to at-home work, there wasn’t just one office space that needed to have a secure network and cybersecurity protocol in place—there were hundreds or thousands. To keep up with this change, we’ve seen a massive change in network security.
To keep your company’s data safe, a managed service provider might use tools like firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, antivirus and anti-malware software, patch management, and data encryption.
Collaboration and Communication
Digital transformation played a very big part in making remote work possible through effective communication tools. We all gained new skills as we became masters of Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more.
With these new ways to communicate came new IT challenges. How do you keep everyone on the same page when there are so many different tools being used? And with all the different applications being implemented, how do you keep your data secure?
IT providers can help by consolidating communication tools, setting up single sign-on (SSO) solutions, and creating custom integrations. SSO lets employees use one set of credentials to access all of the applications they need. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of data breaches.
Numerous studies have said that employee mistakes are the cause of the majority of cyberattacks—this research from Stanford University found that 88% of data breaches were because of human error.
With a managed service provider, you can provide your employees with in-depth technical training to decrease your chance of a cyberattack and use your digitization tools to their full potential.
Partner with Stasmayer for Your Digital Transformation
Technology has always been a huge part of our lives, but the pandemic has forced us to digitize at an accelerated pace. We’ve seen a huge uptick in the use of digital tools as businesses have had to quickly adapt to the new normal.
While the pandemic put a pause on many aspects of our lives, the demand for IT is here to stay. Managed service providers can help businesses of all sizes digitize their operations and keep their data safe. From communication and collaboration tools to security protocols, an IT provider can help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital transformation.
If you’re looking for a managed service provider to help you with your digital transformation, contact Stasmayer today.