2020 was the official home for global unprecedented challenges, which accelerated the adoption of disruptive technologies in businesses. However, 2020 was also the year when digital transformation helped businesses to fast-track operations, design innovative products and services while creating personalized customer journeys. So, in hindsight - undoubtedly, 2020 was a year when years’ worth of digital enablement & transformation was done.

According to World Economic Forum, Digital Transformation is expected to boost world economy with an addition of $100 trillion by 2025.

Truth be told, digital transformation in a world with ever-changing realities and empowered customers can only be achieved through enterprise-wide transformation, design thinking and deployment of cutting-edge technology. A study by IDG reveals that 89% organizations have plans to adopt a digital-first business strategy, however only 44% have fully adopted this approach.

Before you come to consensus of adopting or rejecting digital technologies for your business, it is critical to understand the top 5 use cases of digital transformation in 2021.

Digital Transformation Outlook in 2021

With the evolution of smart devices and disruptive technology, leading to higher productivity - adopting digital transformation is no longer a choice but a necessity to facilitate greater business returns and cater to the increasing customer demands.

Digital transformation market in 2025 will be valued at $3.3 trillion with CAGR growth rate of 23% from 2019 - Research and Markets

Industry leaders are witnessing a paradigm shift in business as digital technologies are opening new avenues for profit generation by transforming the experience of customers, meeting their growing expectations and delivering contextual and personalized offerings.

Digital Transformation in the Energy and Utility Sector

Over the years, digital transformation for the energy and utility sector has moved away from simply replacing the paperwork with automated systems to more advanced reinvention of the ways these companies do their business, engage with their customers and deliver seamless services.

The energy and utility sector has been constantly embracing disruptive technologies like Internet of Things, advanced analytics, data science, machine learning and cloud computing. Energy 4.0, is a digital revolution that is being deployed to create smarter grids, flawless grid management and manage renewable energy and distributed generation. 2021 will witness a greater thrust by Energy 4.0 companies to deploy digital technologies for establishing new business models and sustainable ecosystem for producing and distributing energy services.

Digital Transformation in Telecom Sector

The Telecom sector has been the frontrunner in adoption of digital technologies by embracing the revolution of digital transformation with the adoption of SIP trunk from traditional ISDN trunk. Global telecom industry landscape has seen an accelerated shift with the erosion of legacy revenue models in voice and text messaging, severe competition from the OTT (over the top) service providers and network transformation requirements owing to the emergence of 5G and IoT- forcing them to adopt and deploy new tools and technologies to stay relevant and competitive.

It has led to the rise of omni-channel contact centers, advanced self-service apps and portals, customer interaction channels beyond voice to web chat and social media applications. Multi-channel platforms, deployment of big data and integration of IoT services brings in a new age of advancement to telecom operators. Process automation, network virtualization, adoption of scalable SDN and NFV architecture and high-end 5G networks are the new core concern of telecom operators in the year 2021.

5 Top Use Cases of Digital Transformation in 2021

1. Box by Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric needed a more agile way to manage its business process without compromising on security and governance across their global workforce. With Box, the company has been able to cut cost by 30% and accelerate their time-to-market by decreasing sales cycle time, aligning vendor order management, employee records management, legal process and supply chain use cases.

2. Digital Wind Farm by General Electric

General Electric's Digital Wind Farm is an adaptable wind energy ecosystem that deploys digital infrastructure for the wind energy industry. Use of sensor and analytics help customers with turbines that are customized for peak efficiency leading to an efficiency of 20% in annual energy production. This efficiency is estimated to add another $50 billions of value for the energy industry.

3. QPR Process Analyzer by Nokia

Nokia uses process mining tool of QPR for harmonizing misaligned processes which are generated during M&A transactions. It is a game changer in the field of process improvement. QPR leads to shortened lead time owing to increased efficiency in running processes, created process harmonization, reduces any rework, continuous data-driven development and measure process performance.

4. QPR Suite by Joulz (Eneco Group)

Joulz, a Dutch energy engineering company, wanted to expand and maintain their distribution grid and minimize the amount of interruption minutes for every customer connection. Replacing the existing software solution with QPR helped Joulz achieve an annual saving worth €75k on software and maintenance along with a resource cost reduction of more than 15M Euros.

5. DriveNow by BMW

DriveNow is a car sharing service by BMW that promotes sustainable mobility even extending to electric cars(BMW i3). DriveNow is the car sharing service of BMW i, MINI and SIXT where users can rent cars in a convenient and flexible manner. It helps users to pick up cars from anywhere and drop the same somewhere else with billing charged per-minute. DriveNow services are inclusive of the fuel costs, free DriveNow charging stations and public car parks.

By 2023, direct digital transformation investment is expected to touch $7 trillion by growing at 18% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2020 - World Economic Forum

There is no denying the importance of digital transformation in an era where a business’ success, service excellence and customer experience are all tied up to your ability to deliver on the digital front. Businesses must constantly challenge themselves to ensure digital transformation is fully implemented to unlock productivity, efficiency and competitive edge for delivering exceptional customer experience and boosting business returns.

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