Digital adoption is the process of embracing new technologies for your business and organization. It involves understanding what digital is, how it can benefit your business, and which strategies are needed to get your company on the digital bandwagon.
If you’re reading this article, it’s very likely that you’ve already started exploring ways to put digital technology to use in your business or organization. Maybe you’ve even succeeded in implementing a few digital tools and processes.
However, as challenging as this process may seem at first, if you stick with it, getting your company fully on board with digital will become easier and more beneficial over time. The good news is that putting digital adoption into practice doesn’t have to be overwhelming. There are many ways to get started.
Nowadays, many Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP) software companies offer interactive walkthrough software that helps them with digital adoption. VisualSP, for example, offers a digital adoption platform for Microsoft that helps companies looking to increase digital adoption for office 365 or dynamics 365.
What is Digital Adoption?
Digital adoption is the process of making your organization digitally native. It involves understanding how digital technology works and applying it to your business. Digital technology is a concept that has, over the last few decades, become all-encompassing. Over the last few years, we’ve also seen a rise in the number of digital natives i.e. people with an innate understanding and appreciation of the power of technology.
This means that, as an organization, you don’t have to be a digital newbie to reap the benefits of digital adoption. Other ways of defining digital adoption include:
– Start by doing digital: Make the effort to incorporate digital tools and processes into your business.
– Make your digital strategy a reality: Creating the environment and culture to support a meaningful digital strategy.
– Take the next big step: Turning digital strategy into action and execution.
Why is digital adoption important?
Adopting digital technologies and processes can lead to massive cost savings, increased productivity, and a more efficient way of doing business.
By using new digital tools, you can improve productivity, make your processes more efficient, and drastically reduce the time it takes to complete tasks.
By leveraging digital platforms, you can access a world of information and data, increasing your productivity and expanding your reach.
3 Ways to Start a Digital Adoption Journey
Start by getting the basics right
When it comes to digital adoption, the most important thing to remember is that it is a journey. It is not a one-time event that gets everything right. You will have bumps in the road, but remember to stay positive and keep going. At the end of the day, it may take time, but with consistent effort, you will make progress. Here are some practical tips to get you started:
- If you want to start using digital tools and systems, but don’t know where to begin, start by getting to know the basics.
- Understand how digital technology works, what tools you’d like to use, and how they can help your business.
Get to know your organization’s digital readiness
Digital adoption is about more than picking the right technologies for your business. It’s about knowing how to incorporate them into your workflow, where to find the relevant information, and how your team can use them most effectively.
Onboard the right people
Without the buy-in of key stakeholders, your digital adoption journey will hit roadblocks many times before it gets off. To get buy-in and help, find ways to involve key people in your organization.
3 Challenges when implementing digital
Before jumping into implementation, it’s important to step back and assess where your organization is on the digital adoption spectrum. This will help you identify and mitigate any potential challenges.
Lack of Awareness
If you haven’t done any research yet on digital technologies, an adoption journey might feel like a daunting task. It’s important to note that while it’s important to be tech-savvy, you don’t have to be an expert in order to implement digital technologies.
Limited Budget
When it comes to implementation, there will be costs associated with everything from hardware, software, training, and implementation. When doing your research, it’s important to understand the financial burden associated with the various technologies. This will help you identify the ones that are best suited for your business.
Increased Risk
All new technologies come with a degree of risk. Depending on the tools you decide to implement, there’s also a risk of failure. It’s important to understand the risks associated with implementing new technologies so that you can make informed decisions.
4 Tips for Successful Digital Adoption
Here are four tips for successful digital adoption:
Know your audience
It’s important to understand your audience and what they value. When it comes to your digital strategy, this will help you determine which strategies are most important to your business and which technologies will give you the desired results.
Know where to start
Once you’ve done your research and identified the technologies you’d like to implement, it’s time to get started. However, don’t try to do too much at once. Pick a few digital tools that you’d like to implement and focus on them.
Prioritize
It’s important to prioritize your digital adoption journey. If you want to implement new technologies in your business, but don’t have the budget, employees, or time, it’s not worth it.
Stay positive
Finally, remember that it takes time, effort, and consistency to get your business fully on board with digital. It’s important to remember that any change will likely bring some level of risk.
Conclusion
Over the past several years, the digital landscape has changed dramatically. It used to be that you had to be internet savvy in order to reap the benefits of technology; now, however, that isn’t the case. While internet literacy is still important, you don’t need to be an internet expert to reap the benefits of digital technologies and tools.
It’s important to remember that implementing new technologies can be challenging, and it will take time, effort, and commitment to get your business fully on board with digital.
