You’ve probably heard a lot about digitalization. Technology is evolving every minute, the world is moving forward, and in order for a company to keep up with the world and differentiate itself from its competitors, it needs to implement the latest technologies and optimize business processes.
Digitalization is the implementation of digital technologies to optimize business processes in order to increase business productivity and improve business performance. Digitalization also helps to optimize the way employees work with each other or with potential customers by implementing useful tools.
Digital transformation ensures maximum speed of reaction to changing external conditions, as well as variability of approaches to the development of customer services. It should be understood that digitalization is relevant not only for the banking industry, for example, but also for manufacturing, transport, medicine, oil and gas, and others.
According to statistics, spending on digitalization will reach $1.85 trillion in 2022 (Source: Statista). Meanwhile, in 2023, most of the spending will be directed to cloud storage, generative AI, and machine learning. We also shouldn’t forget about working with Big Data, which can increase the accuracy of forecasting, the efficiency of marketing and sales efforts, and the speed of decision-making. Big data, like data science, is the driving force of business. They have become an integral part of our lives, but the possibilities of their application are not yet exhausted.
The goals of digitalization can be to automate and optimize production and other business processes in a company, to simplify interaction between employees or employees and customers, and to improve and enhance the quality of products and services.
In this article, we have collected best practices and actions from experts who have experienced digitalization. Before you read them, we want to offer you a quiz from Usetech experts about understanding your company’s level of digitalization. Follow the link to take the 6-question quiz (at the bottom of the page). You will also get answers on how much your company is ready for digitalization and recommendations from our experts.
What Can And Should Digitalization Be Used For?
Human resources management
As Reade Taylor, CEO of Cyber Command, points out, implementing digitalization and automating manual workflows, helps companies increase efficiency and reduce errors.
“For example, one of my clients reduced employee onboarding time by 50% by using an automated HR system,” he says.
Advice from Reade Taylor: “To prepare for implementing new technology, analyze your processes and identify where the technology improves efficiency. Start small, focus on solutions that integrate with existing systems, and provide implementation support. Work with vendors who understand your needs and develop customized solutions.
An iterative approach minimizes disruption. Digitize strategically, not arbitrarily. For indecisive companies, start with tools that complement humans, not replace them. If employees see technology as an empowerment tool rather than a threat, the transition will be smoother. Choose solutions that optimize performance without disrupting culture.
With the right approach, digitization will complement your team. The key is to start slow, learn quickly, and expand strategically. Measure, get feedback and tailor solutions to your unique needs. With the right approach, digitalization makes companies more efficient, data-driven and customer-centric. The future is digital — prepare your business and empower your team to succeed.”
Marketing
Perhaps one of the most sought after areas, and pioneers of digitalization. Doug Steinberg, CEO of Magnetik, shares the following:
“Digitalization is critical to the success and growth of our clients. By moving traditional marketing processes into automated systems, we’ve helped streamline operations, reduce errors and improve brand performance.”
If we talk about digitalization of marketing, we pay attention to the use of digital tools when dealing with data analysis, customers, launching campaigns and automating routine processes.
Before implementing new technologies in the marketing department, it’s worth analyzing which processes you can automate and optimize, as well as understanding whether the department’s performance will suffer.
Oil and gas
The global situation, as well as the widespread adoption of digital tools, has not left the oil and gas industry unaffected. Digitalization in this industry includes optimization of processes for efficient hydrocarbon production, as well as efficient field exploration.
Usetech experts share one of their cases: Monitoring of complex equipment based on vibrational portrait analysis. This case reflects the following results:
- 20% reduction in maintenance and repair costs
- Up to 10% extension of equipment lifespan
Digital solutions and implemented technologies are becoming a priority in improving business efficiency. Perhaps the majority of oil and gas companies include new technologies and business transformation based on them in their development strategy. AI, Computer Vision, Machine Learning — this is a small part of what companies are using on their way to differentiate themselves from competitors and grow.
Manufacturing
Digitalization in manufacturing is the management with smart systems and tools that help humans and also reduce the risk of human error.
In the manufacturing industry, many companies are starting to use AI more actively. The use of AI, as well as other technologies, makes it possible to optimize work activities, as well as to implement those processes that seemed unrealistic.
As noted by Ilya Smirnov, head of AI / ML department at Usetech:
“We don’t shy away from our know-how, we’re not afraid of competition, and we’re ready to share our proven cases. We are constantly involved in interesting projects on the edge of the fantastic. Fantastic because just a few years ago it would have seemed impossible to meet these business requirements. It is impossible to predict behavioral scenarios and so on, but we are already solving global problems on a global scale”.
The digitalization of industrial enterprises is a consistent and gradual process. There is no need to rush to implement everything and everywhere. In our experience over the years, the main ingredients of a successful AI project are awareness, assessment of the applicability of Artificial Intelligence and budget control. Digitalization is not about implementing technology everywhere; it is more about thinking processes within the enterprise.
The application of AI in manufacturing has a wide range of use cases, such as: supply chain optimization, quality control, process optimization. For manufacturing, the implementation of machine learning represents a strategic step towards modernization and maintaining leadership in a highly competitive environment.
Several main components of a successful project can be emphasized:
- High-quality digitized historical and current data as the basis for all mathematical models;
- An expert design and implementation team with a wealth of industry knowledge;
- Support from the production side, “ambassadors” of AI projects at the enterprise;
- Economic feasibility of implementing Artificial Intelligence-based technologies.
Agriculture
The agriculture industry is being transformed every day by massive digitalization and technological advancements. Digitalization is having a profound impact on the agricultural sector, helping businesses to automate work processes and optimize them. New technologies help to work more efficiently with data: to collect and analyze data in large quantities, to process the information, and as a result to gain valuable insights for their enterprise and its development.
According to the UAE Agriculture Market Report (Source: Mordor Intelligence), the UAE Agriculture Market size is estimated at USD 3.31 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 4.09 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.30% during the forecast period (2024-2029).
As the market is showing high growth potential, it will be right to invest in new technologies to build off the competitors.
Conclusion
The power of digitalization cannot be underestimated: not only does it help you unlock additional opportunities for your company, but it also helps you take your company to the next level.
We are confident that this process will continue to evolve, and we recommend that companies analyze their workflows to identify an effective implementation point.
And to find out how ready your company is for digitalization, take a short quiz from Usetech experts and get answers with recommendations to your email.
