The digital arena is one of the most fast-paced and exciting places for a business to be. However, with strong talent across countries worldwide, how can Australian businesses keep pace with global competition and create innovative consumer offerings?
Recent research conducted by Gartner revealed how quickly this sector is growing. Out of all the businesses earning over $250 million in revenue per year, 32 per cent were involved with the digital market, a 10 per cent increase from the previous year.
Improving customer relationships and engagement was the key driver for this sector, with 83 per cent of businesses anticipating improvements in this area through digital ventures. Patrick Meehan, research vice president at Gartner, pointed to an evolutionary business model as the key to growth in this market.
"Digital business moments of untapped opportunity and competition can rapidly change the dynamics across industries," he said.
"Innovative companies are tailoring digital business moments to complement their existing products and services."
Reaching a new-age consumer
The introduction of online channels has done wonders for engaging customer bases, according to a survey from Adobe and the CMO Council. In the Asia-Pacific region, 66 per cent of businesses found they were able to create more touch points through digital media.
Increasing efficiency in customer acquisitions was also highlighted as a key benefit amongst 47 per cent of respondents. An additional 41 per cent saw an increase in customer loyalty.
In-depth analytics is one of the most important drivers for success in these schemes. Understanding the exact needs of your target market can help give you a direction for future projects. Delivering innovative solutions to problems at a fast pace will set your business apart, especially if you can leverage both online and offline offerings to your customers.
How can Australian organisations stay ahead?
Australia has strong potential to become a notable contender in the online marketplace. However, there are still greater actions that need to be taken to ensure continued success.
Although much of the focus of digitalisation is around marketing in particular, collaboration between this department and IT is a key step to moving forward. According to a Harvey Nash survey, 66 of CIOs have been affected by digital disruption, forcing them to rethink how their organisation approaches projects. In order to remain competitive, firms must create adaptive business models and employ greater flexibility between different business functions.
The nature of IT functions is not limited to one part of the company alone and objectives need to be shared between different departments in order to execute new strategies. IT project management training is becoming more relevant to marketers as they must understand the inner workings of their new promotional spaces.
Marketing professionals need to have an understanding of digital channels. Government going digital
Businesses aren't the only organisations that can benefit from a more cohesive digital strategy. According to Deloitte, the Australian government could reap a high amount of economic and social benefit by changing the channels of communication between departments and citizens.
By digitising customer transactions, Deloitte estimates that the government can save $16.2 billion through productive and efficient gains over a lifetime. Consumers are also expected to see time saving benefits from the reduction of travel and waiting times, accounting for a $8.7 billion reduction in "lifetime present value terms".
John O'Mahony, Partner at Deloitte, predicted that digital transformation projects will offer benefits four times over the total cost. However, these need to be enacted with care to ensure the whole culture is aware of the implications of this change.
PRINCE2 training is not just of benefit to business leaders, but for IT professionals in the public sector. With clear benefits well within reach, the demand for IT leadership is becoming key to success in all sectors of the economy.