Running a business is hard as it is, which is why digital transformation has to be the next big step you should take for your business

With today’s growing consumer demands, digital transformation operates at the center of every business solution geared towards solving problems from different areas: whether we’re talking about a company’s cash flow management in its internal operations, or providing customers easier access to certain products and services via digital platforms.

Southeast Asia’s booming market experiences this growing demand firsthand. The region is currently home to four of the fastest-growing economies in the world and enjoys a growth rate projected to continue for the next 5 years with its overall GDP growth averaging at 5.4% in recent years, a number that is perched well beyond the global average.

As such, digitalisation is poised to play a crucial role in defining how businesses respond to this regional boom in the coming years.

This demand does not come without good reason as well. Digitalisation in business has always served as a socioeconomic response to certain urgencies. Take for example a business model with the perfect combo of ample funding and innovative product. Without proper digital channels that help with handling its finances, it still faces the challenge of effective cash flow management to drive guaranteed success.

On the flip side, we see different products and services providers digitalising their business models in order to cater to a larger pool of potential customers. This is not a phenomenon experienced by those catering to middle-class sensibilities alone. Even expensive, high-end tech and fashion businesses have put up digital marketplaces aiding them not only with providing vast access to customers domestically, but also in meeting the global demand.

What common challenges are faced by businesses today?

From automation, to analytics, to AI — digitalisation covers a plethora of areas that help revitalise systems. At its core, digitalisation is the integration of digital technologies into everyday life.

In business, digitalisation refers to the adoption of digital technologies to modify business models with the goal of creating value from the use of new and advanced technologies achieved through exploring digital network dynamics and the flow of information. It is also used in the act of upgrading existing processes that would otherwise be done manually in traditional contexts.

It must be pointed out, however, that more than just supplementing societal needs in terms of efficiency and convenience, digitalisation also opens doors for more innovation. In analytics, for example, digitalisation allows businesses to collect and combine data into useful information, not only as a means to keep track of consumer patterns and behaviours, but also as a way to render better and more effective insights for future use.

This is particularly beneficial for marketing and advertising firms that try to create PR-based output hinged on human insights — something that can be rendered through a synthesis of data achievable in digital channels.

While traditional businesses face common challenges such as manual filing of documents, analytics systems that are prone to human error, and even the lack of organisational platforms for employees to communicate in, those that are shifting to digital can focus their time and energy on more important things that transcend everyday operations.

With the help of automation, businesses require less groundwork in terms of handling important documents and filing for business compliance requirements, among many other things. It also helps ease organisational needs that involve paperwork such as payroll. This means with the help of automation, you enjoy the benefits cutting back on unnecessary costs like physical resources, hardware and software expenses, manpower, etc., and ultimately saving you time, money, and energy as well.

Artificial Intelligence or AI, on the other hand, helps equip businesses with smart solutions to common workplace hurdles such as the use of cloud technology, smart messaging tools, automated responders and online customer support, as well as many other AI features. With the use of AI, businesses are bound to run more smoothly and more effectively.

How digitalisation helps revitalise business systems

When we think about successful businesses and how to improve them, it’s not always a matter of putting out new products or services in the hopes that they will resonate to your customers as the next big thing. Sometimes, it can mean running your daily workplace with ease and efficiency so that you can focus on more important things such as securing better funding, scaling internationally, and improving your existing line of products and services.

This is precisely how digitalisation helps revitalise businesses: by covering much of the groundwork necessary to run a business, business owners can channel their time and energy towards being able to achieve greater heights for their companies instead of simply focusing on running them day in and day out.

With how much digitalisation can simplify workflows on top of the added efficiency and security one gets, founders are afforded the luxury to brainstorm ways on how to take their companies to the next level.

This is why overall, digitalisation helps render a more effective and efficient business — because it sustains the lifeblood of any business which throbs at the core of its daily processes, and more than that, providing an enhanced experience for those that the businesses cater to (e.g., simplifying the purchasing process through e-commerce).

Your gateway to digitalisation

Helping to address these business needs is PointStar. Established in 2008, PointStar is a leading cloud technology consultant in the Asia Pacific with a strong track record in moving thousands of organisations and institutions to the Cloud by transforming businesses with automation, analytics, and artificial intelligence to help create a smart workplace.

On 5 November, PointStar is spearheading an event aptly titled “Embracing Digitalisation with Automation, Analytics, and AI” to help contribute to the conversation on the importance of going digital. Catering primarily to the Malaysian ecosystem, the event will happen at WeWork Equatorial Plaza Kuala Lumpur from 5pm to 9pm.

To confirm your interest to attend the event, follow this link here. Kindly note that filling out the form does not confirm your participation to the event. You will receive an email from e27 to officially confirm your seat.

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