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Digital Transformation:
What is it and Why Should I Care?

The world is changing as never before. A new, technology-based industrial revolution is altering the landscape of how we live, work, and connect today. Companies are embracing a digital transformation to drive deeper engagement with their clients, empower their employees, and optimize operations to be more competitive in the world marketplace. And while this sounds as if it might only apply to huge, enterprise corporations with R&D budgets larger than a small business’s net worth, the truth is that digital transformation is an achievable reality to companies of all sizes.

So let’s break it down.

Engagement

When asking how to drive deeper engagement, the answer inevitably points to personalization. And men and women of all ages—potential customers—are publicly sharing more about their likes and interests now than ever before. By capturing that available data, businesses can draw actionable insights to reach and engage with customers on a personal, individual level.

Empowerment

The goal of any true leader is to cultivate the people around him or her to realize their own potential. Leaders don’t want drones; they want members of a team who can think critically and take initiative while working toward a common goal. Introducing digital transformation can give employees the ability to make substantial improvements in the company through simpler and quicker communications. By understanding the tools available, employees can streamline processes and collaborate for more innovation.

Optimization

When a project gets repeatedly delayed because of in-person scheduling conflicts, precious time and money can be wasted.  When a customer’s concern sits unaddressed because only one employee knows the proper process for handling it, a valued customer can be lost forever. Digital transformation can remove these hurdles by offering more flexible communication options and by automating procedures. This can in turn speed up responsiveness and potentially reduce costs.

Transformation

With more relevant data to shape ideas, more engaged and productive employees, and accelerated processes from delivery to responses, businesses become more flexible. Digital transformation allows even small companies to adapt quickly and compete in the world marketplace.

Now that we’ve defined it, how can we implement it?

The O365 Option

One of the biggest advantages of digital transformation is that you might just have many of the tools available already at your fingertips!

Businesses all over the world use Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint). Many companies choose to use Microsoft Office 365 (O365) as an easy way to license the traditional suite of programs along with email hosting. What these companies don’t all realize, however, is that Microsoft has been quietly building a powerhouse of complementary programs and cutting-edge features within these familiar tools.

There are applications that do everything from allowing your staff to easily collaborate on projects, create an intranet, manage video, store files, run a Customer Relationship Management system, manage tasks, create presentations from existing documents, and search for content across all users.  And that’s just the beginning. Various options are included with different licensing models, but current O365 users could have many of these tools sitting untapped in the Start Menu!

So how do I find out what I have and how I can use it?

Join the Revolution

To start with, you can come to the Savannah Chamber’s Power Hour luncheon on November 14, 2017. Our CEO, Chuck Brown, will explain what Office 365 can do for your business and why the “digital transformation revolution” matters to you!

Couldn’t make it to the luncheon? You can still download the tip sheet we made for attendees, or just give us a call! We’d be happy to talk about the challenges you’re facing and all the possibilities you can imagine. Together we will find the solution you need to be a better business today and a competitive business tomorrow.