Digital transformation has become extremely vital. It enables organizations reshape relationships between employees and business processes, and the technology that supports them.
At the heart of any digital transformation process is data – data from your customers and suppliers, data from operations, and more. What makes digital transformation immensely powerful is that it transforms the way people interact with data and help them leverage the insights to make proactive decisions. And this remains incomplete without a modern data integration platform.
Even though the majority of companies have embarked on a digital transformation journey, many still dwell in fears that surround it. Here experts drill down on digital transformation and discover how data integration platform streamlines it.
Before Digital Transformation
Previously, there was a clear delineation between the activities people carried out in support of business processes and the technological processes as well as systems that enabled them.
Before the digital transformation, data was generated in the physical realm and recorded in the digital realm. Wherever these realms intersected (screens, web pages. etc.), users relied on designs to capture data from one world and transmit them to the other. While it enabled users streamline business processes, it also fuelled separation. In that particular environment, the flow of data between machines and people turned out to be the primary constraint to productivity and performance.
After Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is generally viewed as getting rid of the preconceived notions of barriers, and instead, re-creating an environment that thrives and innovates. It replaces the interfaces with a new set of functionalities and capabilities, facilitating users with the freedom to interact with data in an immersive manner. Additionally, data silos get replaced with enterprise data, which enables user drive decision-making.
Value of Data Integration
Organizations need access to data integration to drive their digital transformation initiatives. It removes silos and helps users use data in a better way. Without this, users will not be able to achieve their visions.
Modern data integration platforms have in-built functionalities including, application connectors, shared templates, dashboards, and more. With the help of these capabilities, users can integrate data in minutes. Many solutions also come with a self-service approach that enables all business users integrate and manage data without excessively relying on IT. This allows IT to take up the governance role, driving innovation and growth. As a result, organizations can smoothen their digital transformation journey without additional IT infrastructure or resources.
Integration and Business Agility
Immediately after accomplishing transformation goals, the focus of organizations will shift to achieving business agility in order to sustain continuous evolution and revamping processes. Modern data integration platforms help business users drive agility by decoupling processes from applications, IT systems, and components. They can append new systems to their environment and old ones can be removed while keeping data stable and secure. Agility can reflect in the way organizations make decisions and drive businesses forward. Data integration plays a vital role in helping organizations leverage data and upgrade with time.
Transformation is an ambitious goal, moving beyond the constraints and recreate an environment where people, processes, data, and technology interact freely. Technological aids such as data integration platforms are an essential segment of taking the vision of digital transformation and making it a reality.