The Trends Forming the Future of Digital Business

Digital transformation has become the driving force of business and its importance has been constantly growing. Last year, it rapidly affected direction of lots of companies and, this year, it will not be different. Modern technologies have changed the way of doing business. Who wants to withstand the competitive struggle, should take the opportunity provided by digitization.

Gartner, a global analytical company, ranks the digital transformation among the key priorities which can influence a company´s position on the market in the upcoming years. We assume that until 2024, as many as 75% of the companies will have carried out comprehensive implementation plans regarding digital transformation.

“General directors are aware that they must digitally transform their business processes faster, and in order to pursue this, they are searching for more straightforward digital ways of how to connect with their customers,” says David Groombridge, a Vice President of Ganter.

The Gartner´s research has further predicted that the IT budgets will increase highest within last decade, as such by 3,6% more than in 2021.

Eventually, IT innovations increase companies´ flexibility, improve business results and provide its clients with better and more comprehensive services. In the upcoming period, we expect that thanks to the right technologies and streamlined processes, companies will be able to reduce their operational expenses down to 30%. To make this happen, the companies need to focus more on the aforementioned digitization.

Gartner has introduced a list of strategic technological trend for 2022, promoting business digitization:

Cloud-Native Platforms

Studies have shown that in 2025, cloud platforms will serve as a base for more than 95% of new digital projects. In 2021 it was less than 40%.

Cloud solutions help to streamline business to many of our customers as well. Heineken, a leader on the Slovak beer market, the cloud application of which has digitized its internal processes, ranks among them, too. In YIT, a development and construction company, a cloud solution has streamlined making records on contracts and automated their creation. Motor-Car, which provides sales and service of vehicles, has its sales portal www.motor-car.sk in cloud as well. You can find other successful projects in our references.

Our teams focus on application development based on the Microsoft Power Apps cloud service, which is a part of the Microsoft Power Platform. The applications built on Power Apps automate work processes, rapidly increase companies´ effectivity, simplify internal administration and are able to solve many work tasks in a relatively short period of time. The Power Platform belongs to “low-code“ platforms having impact on future application development.

Gartner Magic Quadrant introduces Microsoft as a leader in the area of “low-code“ application platforms. Even though a “low-code“ platform still requires knowledge of application development to some extent, it reduces time for creation of basic functionalities, which would have otherwise been programmed by a developer.

According Gartner´s studies, in 2024, 75% of large companies will use at least four systems focused on “low-code” development to maintain flexibility in business.

Artificial Intelligence

Until 2025, the 10% of the companies which have artificial intelligence implemented into their processes, would have at least three times higher value than the rest 90% of the companies which did not do so.

The artificial intelligence has penetrated almost into every area of our lives. It´s a part of the tools we are working with on daily basis – from voice assistants and translators into foreign languages to tools enabling us to obtain structured data from images. It also drives many robotic automated processes facilitating administration work, logistics, accountancy, or HR.

Soitron, our mother company, helps customers to automate processes using artificial intelligence as well. Soitron has automated repetitive administrative tasks to Kofola by delivering a RPA software solution. This “cloud-based software robot” saves the IT department up to 1 month of routine work yearly. It carries out routine tasks twice as fast as a human and guarantees minimum error-rate.

Distributed Enterprises

This business model comes from two different areas. The employees, working remotely due to the Covid-19 disease, needed different tools and higher flexibility.  Customers´ shopping behaviour started to more and more influence the online environment.

Distributed enterprises reflect a business model based on digital elements with aim to improve employee experience, digitize customers´ interactions with companies and build experience with the product. Distributed enterprises serve better the needs of employees who prefer hybrid way of work and the customers who have higher and higher demand for virtual services. For example, Merrill Lynch, working at an American bank division, use geolocation to enable her clients to find the nearest bank advisor.

The hybrid way of work has become reality in most of companies where you can work remotely. “Employees´ demands have change irreversibly. More than 80% of managers expect more flexible regulations regarding working from home after the pandemics, and more than 70% of employees plan on using them, “ presented  Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365.

During the last two years, more than 100 new functionalities have been added to Microsoft Teams services aimed to gain exceptional flexibility. Microsoft Viva represents the first integrated employee platform designed for hybrid work. Together, Teams and Viva provide a technological platform connecting people and helping them work effectively from any place. Another platform promoting online cooperation is Microsoft Loop, which was, at the end of November, announced officially as the newest application of Microsoft 365.

Hyperautomation

In general, properly implemented automation is able to streamline up to 80% of company processes.

Demand for artificial intelligence, IoT technologies, machine learning or automation of robotic processes has been constantly growing. However, if these technologies were not combined the right way, they would not be able to solve specific issues and provide the true value for companies. In connection to that, a new need arises, so called hyper-automation.

However, the hyper-automation is not just about technologies. Gartner defines it as a never-ending process and disciplined approach used by companies to quickly identify, verify and automate the largest amount of business and IT processes possible. To have it done, one technology is not enough. Several of mutually connected technologies supporting each other are needed.

Data Structure

Data hide true value in them. However, many companies have their important data stored only in one system and do not use them effectively. Data structure integrates data across various platforms and users, so data are available wherever needed.

Until 2024, the data structure concept will increase the effectivity of using data four times and, at the same time, reduce data administration performed by people by half.

Data Structure gathers and analyses all metadata forms, converts passive metadata into active metadata, creates and adjusts knowledge graphs and others.

Gartner points out also other key pillars having impact on business in a next couple of years.

Source: Gartner

Would you like to start to digitize your company processes and do not know how to begin? Do not hesitate and contact us with your requirements. Step by step, we will introduce you digital transformation.