digital transformation Archives

Digital Transformation Trends: The Future of Business in 2022

March 8, 2022

by Jack Maxwell with No Comment Technology

Digital transformation is the implementation of using new technologies to improve existing processes or create entirely new ones. Companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their operations and increase productivity — they want to streamline processes, reduce costs, and automate tasks.

Businesses are now moving from a linear model of production to a networked model where information flows freely between employees, suppliers, customers, partners, and other stakeholders. This means that businesses need to rethink their entire value chain.

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation is about creating an environment where all your people can work together seamlessly with technology. It’s about making sure that any employee has access to the right tools and resources they need to do their job effectively.

It’s also about ensuring that you have a system that enables everyone to collaborate across different departments and locations.

The term digital transformation is often used interchangeably with ‘disruptive innovation’. Disruption refers to the disruption caused by technological advances, while digital transformation refers to the changes required to adapt to these disruptive innovations.

The main goal of digital transformation is to make companies more efficient, effective, agile, and innovative.

How is digital transformation deployed in businesses?

Companies around the world are implementing digital transformation initiatives to help them become more competitive. These initiatives include:

Using data analytics to identify problems and opportunities
Creating better customer experiences
Improving operational efficiency
Reducing costs
Increasing revenue
Increasing brand awareness
Improving product quality

Both large corporations and small-to-medium-sized businesses are implementing these initiatives.

What kinds of transformations will we see over the next five years?

Over the next few years, we expect to see these six major types of digital transformation:

1. Business Process Reengineering

Business process reengineering involves automating existing processes and replacing them with automated solutions. For example, companies could use software that automatically generates invoices based on purchase orders instead of manually processing invoices.

2. Internet of Things (IoT)

Nowadays, IoT allows businesses to collect new data and use it to create better products and services. Using IoT, companies can predict future trends and improve existing ones. IoT also helps businesses to create new products and services.

66 percent of executives say that IoT is a strategic necessity for digitally transforming their operations. The overarching reason to adopt IoT is the opportunity this technology offers businesses to collect new and or more data across all operations, including customer data.

3. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing allows companies to outsource IT services to third parties. Instead of having to build and manage their own infrastructure, companies can rent cloud space from providers who offer reliable, scalable, and cost-effective solutions.

4. Video Analytics

Video analytics is using AI technology to analyze or detect patterns in video footage. Video analytics help companies monitor what’s happening in their facilities. The resulting data can provide real-time insights into how things operate.

Video analytics can also help companies identify potential safety issues before they happen. This could save lives by preventing accidents from occurring in the first place.

5. Cybersecurity Analytics

The internet has become a major hub of information for businesses, providing access to customers, partners, competitors, and suppliers. This means that companies must protect their valuable resources from cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity analytics help companies detect when an attack is occurring and allow them to respond quickly. This prevents breaches from affecting company assets or causing financial losses.

6. Big Data

Big Data is one of the most significant drivers of digital transformation. Companies use big data to improve customer experience, increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and gain new insights about their markets.

How should companies approach digital transformation?

Digital transformation is not just about new technologies — it’s about changing the way we think and act. It requires a cultural shift within organizations and across industries. Companies must embrace new ways of working, including flexible deployments, remote teams, and automation. They must also rethink processes and systems to ensure they meet customers’ needs.

Why should businesses adopt digital transformation?

If you’re not already working towards digital transformation, then your company is at risk of falling behind and becoming obsolete. The global market for digital transformation is estimated to grow from USD 521.5 billion in 2021 to USD 1247.5 billion by 2026.

Not implementing digital transformation initiatives allows your competitors to gain an edge by using these new technologies to get faster access to markets and wide-reaching customer bases.

In short, digital transformation is one of the most exciting trends in business today. It’s about creating a new experience for consumers and employees alike, and it’s happening across varied industries the world over.

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Current & Future Digital Transformation Trends

October 27, 2021

by J Burrow with One Comment Technology

Digital transformation has become a necessity for organizations that want to thrive in today’s business world. Such a process means adapting their operations so as to shift to the virtual sphere. By integrating digital innovations into their systems, businesses can ensure their long-term stability throughout the digital age.

Though it was once possible for most businesses to use hybrid-digital or non-digital models, COVID-19 cemented the need for digital transformation. Before COVID-19, only 16% of companies in the world utilized technologies to run their businesses. Following lockdown policies, however, businesses only had two choices: to embrace digital transformation or to risk their survival. That said, if you want your business to survive in the digital era, you would do well to staying up-to-date on workplace trends and the possible changes that could be coming down the pipeline. In this vein, here are the current and future digital transformation trends to keep in mind.

Current Trends in Digital Transformation

The three most current trends in digital transformations primarily come from the need to make businesses accessible to both workers and customers. This accessibility was first made possible by cloud-based infrastructures. These cloud services make it possible for organizations to store, manage, and process huge amounts of data on server networks. As such, business teams can remotely access information, build and tests apps, and communicate with customers without the need for high-maintenance and expensive IT infrastructure. This is why cloud services are considered a core component of digital transformation.

The second trend that’s essential for digital transformation is customer data platforms (CDP). These are software programs that collect and organize customer data from emails, social media, and other touchpoints. From these programs, businesses can gather accurate customer profiles that allow them to make decisions based on real data, which keeps in line with their customer’s needs and preferences. As a result, companies can keep track of consumer trends that are integral to their sustainability—all through digital platforms.

Finally, since data is constantly interchanged on digital platforms, the third trend is to deploy heightened cybersecurity measures because they are essential. Data breaches have become huge threats in the digital landscape due to the acceleration of digital transformation. The FBI reported that there were eleven times more phishing complaints in 2020 as compared to 2016. To respond to the rapid digital transformation, educational institutions are training more professionals through online cybersecurity degrees. These programs ensure that cyber professionals can secure cloud migration, protect company data, and manage internal networks through OT security resources. These include video analytics programs that aid in authentication systems as well as IoT-connected smart devices that make for more robust data protection.

Digital Transformation Trends to Expect in the Next Five Years

Companies can access accurate, real-time data by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) into their systems. IoT refers to a network of internet-connected devices that enable communication and data transfer from various locations. In line with this, McKinsey & Company estimates that more than 43 billion devices will join the IoT family by 2023. This technology is crucial for digital transformation because it can streamline supply chains, automate processes, and improve customer experiences through increased connectivity.

Companies are also finding new ways to leverage edge AI-powered technologies in their operations. This is a promising innovation that can detect, process, and mimic human activities. Thus, it is predicted that edge AI technologies, like video analytics, will be highly utilized in manufacturing processes to increase productivity levels. These digital technologies can reduce human errors and automate processes through machine learning algorithms. Therefore, while edge AI technologies handle operations that can be automated, human workers can focus on more complex tasks. And as AI and machine learning capabilities continue to progress, businesses will find that more of their operations can be assigned to smart programs.

Digital Transformation is Just the Beginning

Businesses all across the board are investing in technological innovations to make their operations more suitable for the digital age. With the help of technology, businesses can improve their systems, strategies, and customer experience. And following these trends, the business landscape is sure to progress even further, gaining access to more advanced tools such as IoT technology and AI software. Indeed, the industry finds itself in digitally rich times and businesses would benefit to invest early in these technological tools.

New Disaster Shelters Use Edge AI to Manage Pandemics

November 13, 2020

by Kirin Lee with No Comment Post-Pandemic Topics

As we all begin to live with the global aftermath of Covid-19, the challenge is in creating smarter and safer disaster shelters to alleviate the heavy loads put on hospitals when another infectious disease breaks out or when the next natural disaster occurs.

During any given season of the year, countries face the threat of natural disasters – typhoons, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Pain Points of Traditional Disaster Shelters

As Covid-19 has brought to light, creating and using impromptu shelters for disease control and prevention leaves much to be desired. Here are a few ways that traditional disaster shelters have failed in the wake of Covid-19 and taught us lessons about what we can improve upon:

Disaster shelters are typically set up in schools, gyms, public halls or community centers with little or no patient-to-patient or doctor-to-patient separation.
They require a large number of front-line staff to manage everything on the ground.
Due to the urgency in accommodating large numbers of victims in these places, these makeshift indoor spaces are often overcrowded and utilized as much as possible.

Due to the situations above, an unexpected and innumerable amount of group infections occurred when the first wave of Covid-19 hit. Because of that, however, we can learn how to improve on the idea of how a disaster shelter should be created.

New Disaster Shelter Criteria

In countries like Taiwan and Japan where natural disasters occur frequently, governments have come up with guidelines for new kinds of disaster shelters. For example, the Office of the Cabinet of Japan has formulated the following criteria for the creation of these new disaster shelters:

Prepare more sites in advance for disaster shelters in order to reroute much of the affected population.
To avoid gathering in large crowds, it is recommended that affected people seek refuge at the homes of relatives or friends.
All people entering the disaster shelter must be physically examined.
Disaster shelters should focus on maintaining good ventilation.
Disaster shelters must provide dedicated spaces for people with fevers or other symptoms, and provide a dedicated bathroom to people with abnormal health symptoms if possible.

In the past and under normal conditions, the government advocated that these items be strictly followed. Yet these key guidelines are quite difficult to maintain in an emergency situation.

Edge AI Solutions in New Disaster Shelters

There are many governments and local authorities in countries that are paying attention to how AI technology can be used in shelters in areas at high risk for natural disasters. For example, using an access control system with contactless temperature detection combined with facial recognition technology can record body temperature and personal data when anyone enters the shelter. That data can then be linked to a specific face identity. Because the system is contactless, it can help avoid transmission between the front-line staff and the admitted person because the device replaces the front-line staff with technology.

Furthermore, physical methods have been used to block people from associating with one another. This is achieved by creating spaces separated by plastic or cardboard dividers. Video analytics can be used to confirm the number of people in each area is within limits. Using AI identification along with personnel management can work together to efficiently strengthen protocols and efficiency.

In addition, mask detection video analytics can be used to identify whether or not an entrant is actually wearing a mask. This cuts the common reliance on staff to check at entry and exit points, thus again reducing the need for front-line staff.

Loss or theft of relief supplies for disaster shelters is often a problem. It’s impossible to allocate people to monitor these materials 24/7. If there are non-staff wandering around the storage area, video analytics can alert the proper personnel and warn them to take necessary action.

Finally, in case an infected person does enter a shelter, focusing on contact tracing methods to effectively locate all the people they have interacted with to prevent further spread of the disease is important as well. Carrying out effective contact tracing, quarantines, and similar measures can benefit from technology and is being closely watched by governments and local administrations.

Transforming the Traditional with Edge AI

Covid-19 is a pandemic the likes of which the world has never seen and transforming traditional shelters into a more intelligent disaster refuge is an issue that all governments must address. Gorilla’s edge AI technology is leveraged in creating a variety of post-pandemic solutions that governments and countries can adopt. In the future, Gorilla Technology will continue to produce the most advanced video analytics and will continue to develop products that contribute to society.

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Digital Transformation in the Age of Covid-19

October 26, 2020

by Gorilla Technology with No Comment Post-Pandemic Topics Technology

Only 16% of companies in the world highly depend on digital technologies to run their businesses, while the rest are hybrid-digital and non-digital models.[i] The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all that and has forced companies to finally embrace digital transformation.

Digital transformation is the process whereby businesses adopt new technologies and fundamentally change the way they deliver services to customers. Namely, digital transformation is how enterprises integrate digital technologies into business operations.

Because of the lockdown policies and work-from-home guidelines from Covid-19, many workforces have had to shift their operations to the digital world in order to maintain stability/profitability. This unprecedented and unpredictable crisis has shown the world just how important technologies are to modern businesses. Enterprises now have to rethink their digital transformation strategies and the pace with which to roll them out.

But the barriers for companies to rapidly overhaul their business environments are many. No clear strategies and budget shortfalls are the two biggest challenges most companies face. Yet many businesses are taking the leap since the pandemic leaves them no other options.

Levi’s is an example of a company that has successfully reduced losses by accelerating their digital transformation. They automated most of their logistical processes, deployed an omni-channel e-commerce and delivery system, and invested heavily in data and artificial intelligence, thereby keeping them afloat. By strengthening their connection between digital technologies and operations has been beneficial for both customers and employees.

It’s not just retail—factories, hospitals and governments can also take an advantage of transforming digitally. To embrace a data-driven future, the following technologies are the key trends which we’re already seeing help people adapt to the new normal:

During this challenging time, companies should stay open to digital transformation. Not only the pandemic but also the development of Edge AI/computing are pushing companies to speed up their plan of digital transformation. Gorilla who has specialized in edge computing can really help organizations easily transition and make operations smoother in the long-run.

Click here to learn more about Gorilla’s post-pandemic solutions: https://www.gorilla-technology.com/IVAR/Post-Pandemic-Area-Management

[i] Harvard Business review

https://hbr.org/resources/pdfs/comm/microsoft/Competingin2020.pdf

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