The Digital Transformation Challenges of the “New Normal”

Enterprises are rapidly re-aligning their IT infrastructures to cope with the “new normal”. However, this is also un-chartered territory as just like the pandemic, things are yet to un-fold to an extent that we gain a clearer picture.

However, as a business, you always need to think ahead and pre-empt what’s going to happen. Only then can enterprises gain that much needed competitive edge which can set them apart from the others within the respective industry or niche.

What makes Digital Transformation Challenging?

The foremost factor that is making present day digital transformation a challenge is the high levels of uncertainty. No one know exactly how the new normal would look like, and even if it is sustainable, at least at these initial stages of a mass vaccination drive.

In addition to the high levels of uncertainty, digital transformation is not something that can be approached with a “one size fits all” mindset. Digitalization and the post pandemic scenario would differ across enterprises, which adds to the already complex situation.

We will highlight some notable digitalization challenges in this post, which enterprises are likely to face when transitioning to the post pandemic world, or the new normal.

In-Office, Work from Home or a Hybrid Workforce

Right now, this is the most burning question enterprise administrative and IT teams are wrestling with. This is one of those decisions around which most of the IT infrastructure choices of the near future will be structured.

The foremost challenge you need to address is the model of workforce that your enterprise will adopt going forward. Will it be a full-on return of each employee to the workplace or no employee would be returning to the workplace in person.

It appears that the answer to this question will lie somewhere in the middle of both these extremes. Most enterprises should initially settle and plan for a hybrid workforce model, where some employees show up at the workplace, while others work remotely.

A Phased Return to the Workplace

Perhaps a very prudent approach would be to make the return to the physical workplace a phased process. This will not only be a safer option from an employee safety perspective, but also put lesser strain on your already stretched out IT team.

Whether it’s a phased return to the workplace, a full blown “back to the office” decision or fully remote, it would be best to rely on flexible technology platforms such as Cloud Computing to pull this off. This will give you un-rivaled flexibility and room to maneuver.

Get Your Employees On-Board

This is yet another major phase of transition, which is also making your employees nervous. At this stage, they are also confused how their workplace would look like in the near future. So, not communicating with your employees at this stage would be bad.

As soon as your top management, admins and IT professionals zero in on their vision of the workplace, you need to put the word out to employees to address the nervousness among them. Whatever model or technology you opt for, it is imperative that you communicate.

This in turn will not only make the transition to the new normal a seamless affair, but also deliver a positive message to the employees that they were also taken on-board during this entire transition. By communicating, you will be making this transition way easier.

Conclusion

The new normal is still un-certain territory but a step that will eventually have to be taken in order to remain competitive and move ahead as a business. What’s most important is to approach digital transformation as a means to an end, rather a destination itself.