How the COVID-19 Fallout Changed Digital Transformation?

We as a progressing society have witnessed multiple events that have questioned our lives and put our livelihood at risk, both on a personal and societal level. However, since the Second World War, the Covid 19 pandemic has notably been the most significant cause of such drastic social change worldwide. The obvious turn of events with the pandemic resulted in the necessity of quarantine, lockdown, and self-isolation, which reasonably affected how our society and economy functions at a global level. As a result, businesses, transport, trade, and leisure came to a screeching halt.

But it’s worthwhile we take a pause and look back to be thankful how Digital Transformation has prevented the pandemic from taking over our livelihood during the shutdown. Our supply chains, connections, network, and sanity on digital systems are in turn impossible to maintain without internet technology.

Let's take a look at Digital Transformation pre-Covid-19 and the impact of Covid-19 on Digital Transformation.

Digital transformation Before the Covid-19 Virus

Even before Coronavirus made an entrance, digital transformation has already been a major investment sector for companies all over the world. Businesses across many sectors were indulging heavily in this technology, and it could roughly be divided into two categories: digital native disruptive businesses (such as Google, Facebook, Uber, etc.) and every other business that needed to defend itself from such disruptions

Over the past 20 years, the internet has expanded its ability to connect people and services, as well as disrupting the popular demand of traditional products and services with digital alternatives. However, with the expansion of mobile and social media in the 2010s, digital connectivity exploded. If you weren't considering a digital version of your product, service, company, brand, or even yourself, then you were part of a small minority.

In reality, the global transition into a digital web was not always so fast-paced. Most digital transformations began with a website, followed by SEO, social media platforms, and digital marketing. Several companies looked at their legacy processes and systems and saw an opportunity to upgrade and gain a competitive advantage through internal and customer-facing transformations.

Investments of this kind always cost money, especially when they raise questions about your business processes, systems, and culture. There are risks and costs associated with changing functions and all over workflow, as they can be time-consuming and difficult to do. Despite "everything going well as it was", some companies were put off. "Digital transformation" was seen as a fad by other companies.

In other words, there was always a pull towards digital transformation – but there wasn’t always a major simultaneous push in that direction.

Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Transformation

There can be no doubt that this pandemic will have widespread and long-lasting consequences. 

Despite this, while there is no set end date, the world is already adapting to the new operating conditions. Remote working is now the new normal, and many universities currently offer online courses and exams. Global health agencies are tracking individuals remotely instead of sending them to clinics. Grocery stores now provide contactless delivery.

Understanding The Importance of Digital Transformation

Enterprises need to build in the operational resilience necessary to survive this new reality. A pandemic like Covid-19 has demonstrated the value of IT and digital transformation, and companies should take advantage of this opportunity to speed up the process. 

According to an IDC survey, the top three negative impacts of Covid-19 on enterprises were - 

•  A significant drop in sales performance
• An inability to resume production
• nability to visit customers. 

While the top three positive impacts were cited as -

• Improved long-distance collaboration within the company
• Gaining the ability to market online and develop business
• Wide recognition of the value of digital transformation and information technology by all employees

Building Trust in The Digital Age

In the evolving world of the digital economy, companies are interacting with customers more digitally and over a screen rather than in person. Creating new accounts online is the first step in digital transformation. When conducting any business online, corporations must verify that a person's digital identity matches their physical identity. Banking, financial services, food delivery, and even gambling have seen significant increases in online business as a result of the pandemic, helping in many cases to offset the losses from in-store sales. Therefore, digital identity management is often overlooked in digital transformation strategies.

In the short and long term, organizations that web-enabled their businesses are in a much better position to withstand this pandemic.