November 17, 2023
Nowadays, businesses have access to an increasingly vast array of technological tools with which to achieve their objectives. At the same time, while having such a range of tools at their disposal has clear advantages for companies, it also necessitates near-constant evolution to stay competitive.
This, in essence, is what digital transformation is all about – adopting and effectively integrating tech into every aspect of a business to remain at the cutting edge of one's field. It is a concept that has quickly gained momentum, and a thriving ecosystem has come into being within the digital transformation sphere as a result.
This ecosystem is already populated by a surprising number of tech unicorns, and there are important lessons to take from their success.
Customer experience is at the very core of what digital transformation is all about, and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, has attributed the success of his organisation to a clear understanding of this principle.
"We're No. in [customer relationship management]," said Benioff, "which is the fastest-growing part of enterprise software, because every company and every industry and every government [agency] is recreating themselves with their customer."
Salesforce offers cloud computing services with a strong emphasis on usability and CX in customer relationship management. The company has achieved massive growth as a result of the global digital transformation movement, with the Salesforce Service Cloud garnering plenty of attention along the way. The Service Cloud has been hailed for its innovative self-service portal and intuitive approach to customer support, which exemplifies Salesforce's broader perspective on digital transformation.
On the topic of CX and digital transformation, Benioff has had this to say:
"Every digital transformation is going to begin and end with the customer, and I can see that in the mind of every CEO I talk to."
The importance of UX extends beyond just that of the customer, however. The truth is that it has become a real priority to employees as well. Walkme, the company famed for its innovative Digital Adoption Platform, has proven this fact.
Speaking on the discrepancy between customer experiences and employee experiences, and the need for digital transformations to enable employees, CEO Dan Adika said:
"We have two main use cases – WalkMe for customers and WalkMe for employees – and both are huge, but when we're looking at the digital transformation and we talk about WalkMe for employees, every employee for every company over two or three hundred employees using software, they want to be better."
"When we're looking today, how CIOs and IT leaders deploy software internally, this is so old-fashioned compared to how product managers deploy features to customers," Adika said. "But today, and even now, when people are competing for talent, employees want the best experience. Companies start thinking about user experience when it comes to their employees and their customers, and not just their customers, and they only want to do it with digital adoption platforms."
Adika's points are highly resonant, and his logic is congruent with that of other CEOs at the forefront of the digital transformation movement.
In a recent interview, Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, also emphasised the importance of digital transformation from an HR perspective, citing changes in internal dynamics as a factor.
"The most important thing is what we call the digital headquarters," Butterfield said, speaking on Slack's role in the digitisation of workplaces. "There obviously is some digital infrastructure that's really critical to supporting productivity and collaboration. I think there are real opportunities."
"The other thing that's interesting and kind of unrelated to how we work is the shifting dynamics in the labour market. The balance has shifted in such a way that the market will determine how much time people expect to be in the office, not the employers.
People who require employees to be in the office on a 9-5, Monday-Friday schedule are just not going to be able to hire or retain people, or certainly not hire or retain their pick."
Butterfield's words ring true, as it would seem that digital transformation is increasingly being viewed as a necessity, rather than a luxury afforded by abundant technological advancements.
By the same token, companies need to create synergy between employees and tech in the face of further developments. For instance, as automation and AI become more important, so too does the role of the employees who wield these technologies.
In a LinkedIn interview, Oleg Shchegolev, CEO of SEMrush, discussed digital transformations and the role of AI in the digital marketing sphere. "There's a saying that AI algorithms are only as good as the data they're fed," said Shchegolev. "Hence, as marketers, we need to adapt to the changes that AI brings, but bear in mind the restrictions that AI implicitly has. To put it simply, I doubt that AI will be more qualified SEO-wise than an experienced specialist for some time. AI will be a helpful mechanism that will allow us to take even more advantage of the database of information that is the Internet."
So, it follows that while a company needs digital transformations in order to sustain its workforce, the inverse is simultaneously true in equal measure. In many ways, we can conceptualise digital transformations as being built on a symbiosis between human beings and technology.
With the digital transformation movement becoming an increasingly dominant force across almost every industry, business leaders must strive to facilitate adoption and streamline employee experiences at every possible opportunity or face the prospect of falling behind their competition.
Simply put, it is those who truly understand the relationship between man and technology that will thrive in the age of digital transformation, and the massive success of these tech unicorns is undoubtedly a testament to that fact.
Digital transformation involves adopting and effectively integrating technology into every aspect of a business to remain competitive and at the cutting edge of one's field.
Customer experience is at the very core of digital transformation because businesses are recreating themselves with their customer in mind, using technology to enhance interactions and satisfaction, as exemplified by Salesforce.
Employee UX is highly important, extending beyond just customer experience. Companies are increasingly focusing on providing the best internal software experiences for their staff to improve productivity and retain talent, often through digital adoption platforms like Walkme.
Yes, digital transformation is increasingly viewed as an HR issue. It impacts internal dynamics and the labour market, with employees expecting flexible work arrangements. Businesses must provide the necessary digital infrastructure to support productivity and collaboration, or risk losing talent.
Absolutely. While automation and AI are crucial, human expertise remains vital. Digital transformations are built on a symbiosis between human beings and technology, where skilled employees wield these technologies to maximise their potential, as highlighted by SEMrush's CEO.
