Between 2021 and 2023, businesses will invest $6.8 trillion into digital transformation. This incredible investment is a direct response to our new age of digital disruption.
Today, we’re going to be exploring the impact of digital disruption and how it will forever change how we do business. Let’s dive in.
What Is Digital Disruption?
Digital disruption refers to the changes we experience in business due to new technologies. The effects they have on both companies and the market at large are also a part of digital disruption.
We experience these changes at all levels of business, from day-to-day operations to customer relations. Undergoing a digital transformation can have many positive impacts on businesses. But, there are risks as well that we’ll be discussing below.
Impact of Digital Disruption on Business
Machine learning, AI, IoT, 5G, and other expanding technologies contribute to digital disruption. Companies have to decide how to incorporate digital innovations into their business models.
Changes How We Do Business
Company leaders must now include these new technologies into their business strategies. Instead of relying on traditional methods for business growth, leaders should “think digital.”
These changes don’t just affect strategy. They also change how a company functions day-to-day. By leveraging digital tools, operations become streamlined and more efficient than ever before.
This also impacts how a business interacts with its customers. Our society is more connected now thanks to improvements in communication technologies. Increasingly, customers expect to communicate with a company at any time.
Market and Competition Expansion
Digital disruption’s effects on a company’s market reach are a double-edged sword. While businesses can now reach more customers, they also now have more competition. Companies no longer have to consider just their local competitors. Now they must think of competition on a global scale.
Digital Disruption in Retail
In the case of retail businesses, they can now sell their products to consumers all over the globe. Yet, this increases their competition, as we mentioned above.
We’ve seen many retail businesses fail in the last few years, some of which had been in business for over a decade. Many of these companies could not adapt to the changing digital marketplace. Subsequently, they no longer had the revenue to keep their doors open.
Digital Disruption Risk
As with any change, there are positives and negatives. We rely on digital technologies more and more these days. Businesses must now consider their cybersecurity and IT support strategies.
Any disruptions to a company’s technological infrastructure can interrupt sales, operations, and distribution. This can cause a business to lose customers or put their customers’ data at risk.
We’re beginning to see an ever-increasing demand for cybersecurity engineers and IT professionals. Companies need these professionals to continue to expand digitally and meet market needs.
Digital disruption is increasing the demand for some professions and decreasing the demand for others. While technological innovation creates new jobs, it also eliminates others.
Moving Forward in the Age of Digital Disruption
To succeed in this new digital disruption environment, you must be adaptable. Those who cannot adapt to these changes will not succeed in the global market.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can adapt and succeed in the digital market, check out the articles in our blog’s “growth” section.