digital-transformation-top-5-trends

The term “New Normal” has been tossed around probably more than you ever heard it before in the past several months. Although we have optimism that one day we will be able to fill stadiums again with crowds, shake people’s hands, and be able to see everyone’s faces, one new normal we may see permanently staying is the way and how we work. 

Our world is becoming more digital by the minute. The transformation in the way we work has evolved drastically and quicker than ever. The integration of digital technology is reaching new heights as our tools and insights get better and smarter. 

To look ahead into what here-to-stay work trends could look like, we’ve identified five digital transformation trends that your business should be keeping top of mind. 

1. Remote work and tools are here to stay.

2020 was one big remote work experiment – and as it turns out, employees love it. 99% of remote workers want to continue teleworking in the future. 

With this shift to remote work, we’re also seeing how the digital transformation of records and documents, customer services, and team-collaboration software becoming ever so essential. You can’t work from home if you can’t access the documents you need, or reach out for a video meeting with your team. 

Many organizations have quickly awakened to realize that their infrastructures are far from modernized as this shift to remote work is seemingly to be the new way of working. 

2. Spikes in cyberhacks mean security is #1. 

This year also saw a spike in cyberhacks, as criminals took advantage of the pandemic to wreak havoc. In fact, 80% of firms saw an increase in cyberattacks. 

Thankfully, companies are increasing their cybersecurity budgets in order to double down on security. In particular, they’re working to improve their API security and cloud infrastructure so that data breaches are minimized. 

3. The “Privacy Renaissance” includes on-brand privacy initiatives.

Due to new privacy laws and customer concern, privacy is actually getting some attention. 44% of CEOs rank data privacy among top 3 policies for their business. Privacy is likely to become a part of brand reputation, as users stay loyal to companies who respect and protect their data. 

While big players like Amazon aren’t likely to hand back data, other companies will want to take a closer look at privacy and the brand opportunities surrounding it.  

4. Environmental technology strikes a chord.

As we become more concerned about climate change, new green tech trends have left us breathless. These include making waste-based oil, capturing ocean thermal energy and going paperless; the latter accounting for approximately 20% of total air pollution.

Likewise, companies have worked to stay environmentally-friendly by converting their paper documents to electronic ones, among other energy-saving initiatives. 

5. Conversational AI is getting more human-like. 

Voice assistants like Siri haven’t exactly wowed us this year. But in the future, conversational AI may actually work. AI is set to become more human-like, including understanding more complex comments and tones. It’s exciting to imagine a high-quality hands-free search experience someday. 

We’ll have to wait and see on this one. 

Based on these trends, especially in the past year, many organizations have realized that this entire time they have been left behind when it comes to their modernization of business processes. 

Sudden lockdowns had left companies scrambling to allocate resources efficiently among employees and configuring complex schedules for in-person office dropins or drop offs of documents. Data breaches and even Zoom Meeting hacks were prevalent as well—all complications causing disruptions to our workflows.

Digital transformation has become a key part of our society today. Nearly every area of life can be improved with the help of digital tools and devices. As businesses try to catch up with our new realities it would be coherent advice that leaders continue to keep notes of new trends as modernization of workflows persists.