The short answer to this question is yes. Digital transformation is not only necessary; it’s inevitable. As Henrique Dos Santos (past Senior Project Director for Cogent Analytics) writes, the topmost steps to increasing productivity are: developing a good working environment, using new tech to your business’s advantage, and making sure not to waste the time at hand. And with all of these steps and more, digital transformation can pave the way to a brighter future.
The Digital Workplace Training Room
One of the keys to a good working environment is proper training. And today, this is much easier to accomplish thanks to the emergence of digital training tools accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. ERP software giant SAP for instance has a suite of learning management systems (LMS) that’s dedicated to employee training. One of these systems is called SAP Litmos, an intuitive, user-friendly, and standalone training system designed to be rolled out quickly and efficiently.
This means that it’s easy for even managers without technical software skills to craft and license their own specific materials and online training modules on SAP Litmos LMS. Whether the topic is sales, engineering, distribution, customer service, or whatever type of course you want to teach remotely, this LMS can do it. Furthermore, SAP Litmos’ custom interface also allows you to integrate other course providers and preconfigured learning materials, making it easier to scale training according to your needs. And all of it can be done online.
Tech giants like Google and Amazon have taken things further by taking the initiative and creating their own programs to educate employees in coping with digital transformation. The subsidized online IT support certificate program at Google, for instance, has enrolled around 75,000 students. Meanwhile, Amazon has recently channeled $700 million of company funds to retrain 100,000 of its employees through its own post-secondary programs. Apart from their own employees, these tech giants have also opened these programs to the public.
Alongside their own independent training programs they also continue to partner with universities through offering online IT training and credentials programs as well. Google’s certificate courses are still integrated with Northeastern University’s stackable pathways for their four-year IT degrees. Meanwhile, Maryville University’s online bachelor’s in computer science degree heavily involves training in the use of cloud software like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. And apart from integrated credential programs with tech giants, these university IT degree programs also include intensive courses in programming languages and other skills pertinent to the ongoing digital transformation happening in industries across the globe.
In short, the lines are blurring between online degree courses and independent online corporate training systems. Whether through degrees from schools like Maryville University and Northeastern University, or through the certification programs at companies like Google and Amazon, there’s no shortage of digital tools for empowering employees to better cope and develop within digital transformation models. And for virtually every industry or business model, this has made it easier to develop employees as well as a good working environment.
The Power of Analytics
The aforementioned examples of developments in employee training and the digitization produce a lot of data. This data can then be organized, parceled through digital tools or AI, and analyzed for actionable business insights. This is the process of analytics in a nutshell. And it’s a process that can be applied to fast-track employee training, optimize manufacturing or logistics operations, calculate insurance premiums, and a host of other use cases wherein sizable amounts of data can be found and analyzed for insights.
The use of analytics for business intelligence has been around for years, and one of the most promising developments in the field is the use of AI for augmented insights. Combining AI-enabled machine learning and natural language processing, companies using augmented insights have faster access to actual actionable insights that can optimize their operations or allow them to pivot with more agility. In fact, IT giant and global research firm Gartner predicts that the use of augmented insight-driven reports for business intelligence will be the norm in 2021.
Therein lies the inevitability of digital transformation. Whether you want to increase productivity, improve the way you train employees, optimize operations, and make the most out of your time and resources, the answers lie in embracing the digital transformation of industries.
Written for cogentanalytics.com
Jennifer Vivian
