What is Digital Business?

It is one of the most frequently asked questions on the internet. Digitalization means transforming any business into a digital business using digital technologies. The main purpose of digitalization is to generate higher revenue and create new value-added opportunities. At present, many companies are in the process of digitization. Top businesses have already done this technique and are very successful in economic, financial, and customer satisfaction.

Keeping up with the latest updates and facts regarding digitalization is very important for anyone who would want to start their own business or change their business into a digital one. Some of the most popular digital technologies are Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Quantum Computing, Edge Computing, Blockchain, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.

There are more than 2 billion websites in the world. The Internet is a huge thing, so it isn't easy to measure its actual size. However, IT giants, namely Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Facebook alone, store around1.5 million terabytes of data.

In this informative article, let us see what is digital business and discuss everything related to it and the process of digitization.

What Is a Digital Business?

In today’s work-from-home world, it feels like everyone is running a digital business. But the reality is that top business leaders have different definitions of what it means to go digital. As a result, priorities vary when it comes to technology adoption and transformation. 

Generally speaking, digital businesses rely on technology to operate and grow. Depending on your industry, that might look like:

• Using productivity apps and task management systems to automate workflows
• Leveraging AI to improve customer experience
• Capturing data to improve business intelligence
• Or, for online-only companies, doing 100 percent of your work via digital platforms

But just downloading a few apps doesn’t make you a digital business. True digital transformation is the slow process of shifting away from manual processes and toward a customer-centric, technology-focused business model.

Becoming a digital business impacts every part of your organization, from employee experience to customer service to back-end maintenance and management.

Digital Business Benefits

What is digital business and what are its benefits? To answer this question: there are numerous advantages of transforming a business into a digital business. It improves the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations. Apart from that, it also boosts productivity. Below given are some of the pros of digital business:

1. Enhances Productivity

Automating manual processes has a huge impact. For example, imagine you automate an assembly sector inside your industry. Now, there is zero to the minimum need for manual labor to work in that particular sector because everything will be done with the help of robots. Therefore, there will only be minimal mistakes. Apart from that, the process is also faster.

2. Lower Operational Costs

The main objectives of every business are to save time and money. Doing manual processes and tasks is extremely time-consuming and relatively slower than automated techniques. In addition, you also need to pay the laborers on a monthly or hourly basis, which would involve a lot of money. 

It has been proven that inefficient processes can cost companies up to 25 % of their revenue. When the processes are done manually, there are higher chances of mistakes. In such cases, digitalizing the organization will be more efficient and less expensive. 

An interesting fact about digitalization is that it can save up to 90 % of the companies’ operational costs.

3. High Quality and Consistency

A major advantage of having a digital business is that it can guarantee that all the operations are made consistently. It provides high-quality outputs. 

For instance, automating a customer service sector will provide the consumers of that sector with high-quality information and support. 

4. Governance and Reliability

The automated services are very consistent, enabling the user to rely on them. It will help in the following way:

• Run your business.
• It helps in giving reliable procedures and methods to the clients.

5. Better Decision Making

Information management and digitization work very closely. When the information is analyzed, it will help transform it into knowledge. Knowledge helps in making better decisions.

Concepts of Digital Business

Becoming a digital business is a foundational shift, so it’s important to consider the key concepts guiding your transformation.

What are businesses looking to achieve by going digital? Most organizations cite the following four concepts:

1. Flexibility

Our world is constantly changing, and companies are looking for a business model that allows them to be more flexible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, businesses realized that technology could help them pivot from on-site to work-from-home and back again without creating a logistical nightmare. Going digital allows you to adapt to change quickly without the dead weight of time-consuming manual processes. 

2. Scalability

With scalability, processes match fluctuations in your workload. Digital businesses can quickly scale up or down to meet the needs of the organization. As an example, a scalable business can efficiently onboard new employees during periods of growth or expand their data storage when taking on a large client. 

3. Culture

Digital business requires changing how you operate, and this starts with changing how you think. To truly become a digital business, you need your staff to be on board. Though tech leaders in your organization may be at the forefront of this work, building a philosophy of productivity, efficiency, and automation into every department's mission is vital to success.

4. Quality 

Our final digital business concept seems straightforward, but it’s important to keep in mind that quality is key as you make big changes. Often, we become swept up in innovation for innovation’s sake. But this won’t add value to your business. If your new processes aren’t enhancing quality, you need to rethink your strategy. 

Components of Digital Business

To digitize a business, there are some essential components that the business should possess. Let us see what they are:

1. Artificial Intelligence

The other name for Artificial Intelligence is AI. It is considered one of the most efficient methods in digital businesses. It helps the organizations anticipate customers' desires, faster forecasting outputs, etc. It can detect what is happening and calculate the reasons for it. It also provides the most appropriate solutions for any problem that occurs. 

2. Internet of Things

Another name for the Internet of Things is IoT. It can help develop smart products. Also, the arrival of 5G internet will help businesses reach their goals faster. It will also help increase the productivity of the processes. 

3. Digital Engineering

This technology plays a vital role in transforming customers' journeys. It also enables rapid innovation, which will help launch new brands and technologies.