7 Digital Transformation Trends Defining 2019

It’s midway through 2019, and there are several digital transformation trends across the entire enterprise. From next-gen technologies to business progressions, organizations are leveraging new innovations.

What digital transformation trends have disrupted the enterprise in 2019? Here are seven remarkable examples.

1. DX Meets UX

Improving the user experience has become the foundation for a solid digital transformation. The days when companies could adopt technologies solely for the purpose of cutting costs are declining. More enterprises are realizing that focusing on the user experience is a key to success. Whether it’s migrating to the cloud or by providing specialized mobile apps to employees, the trend is clear. By adopting new technologies to help workers do their jobs, employee satisfaction and productivity increases.

2. The Role Of The CIO Evolves

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) has evolved from a position that was focused squarely on technology into a critical business role. Technological innovation is vital to maintaining a competitive advantage, which means that the CIO has become one of the most important leaders in the enterprise. In addition to managing technological expectations, the CIO is now seen as someone who also manages business ones. The CIO must champion new technologies, such as robotic process automation, so that enterprises can achieve optimal business outcomes.

3. Record Digital Transformation Spending

In order to gain a competitive advantage, businesses are investing heavily in digital transformation. In April 2019, IDC forecasted that global digital transformation spending will reach $1.18 trillion this year, which represents a 17.9% increase from the previous year. According to the findings, the two industries that were leading the way in digital transformation spending were discrete manufacturing ($221.6 billion) and process manufacturing ($124.5 billion). Coming in third was the retail industry. The adoption of smart technologies with the goal of improving workplace efficiencies, has fueled this increased spending. Simply put, companies are now spending more on digital transformation than ever before.

4. The Enterprise Gets Ready For 5G

Technically 5G is available now, although just in select cities. There will be a nationwide roll out in 2020, and enterprises eagerly await the 5th generation of mobile communications. By 2021, the number of 5G connections could reach upwards of 100 million. In 2019, enterprises are preparing for a 5G-enabled future. Companies in manufacturing will harness 5G to optimize the factory floor layout and enhance production standards. Within retail, 5G will result in more personalized digital signage in stores. In healthcare, there will be an increase in telehealth due to 5G. Every industry will be impacted by this new technology.

5. Hybrid Cloud Tops Digital Transformation Trends

Once-prominent enterprise data centers are becoming relics. The push to the public cloud is occurring in 2019, with more enterprises moving workloads to it this year than any other time before. Companies are also realizing in 2019 that going all in public cloud or private cloud is not the best solution, which is why a mixture of public cloud and private cloud is becoming more popular in the enterprise. Organizations are adopting hybrid cloud to improve security, and to operate more efficiently. Hybrid cloud is no longer just a buzzword — it’s now a reality.

6. More Bots

As artificial intelligence (AI) makes it way in the enterprise, we are beginning to see more use cases. Chatbots might be the most relevant version in the enterprise in 2019. This technology is being used in healthcare, finance, real estate, e-commerce, and other industries. It is so common that some customers are used to interacting with chatbots, and in many cases, customers like the technology. In the future, consumers will interact more with chatbots than with human agents.

7. The Growth Of Augmented Reality

After a few years of making its way as a consumer technology, augmented reality (AR) has seen a rise in adoption in the enterprise this year as one of the top digital transformation trends. The technology has become especially useful in industrial sectors, where workers are able to access information or images without the use of hands. Enterprises are deploying more AR apps to their workforce for the purposes of completing many tasks. The demand has been growing so rapidly that both Google and Lenovo recently released updated versions of AR devices for the enterprise.

Looking back, the first half of 2019 has been remarkable for enterprise technology. The second half of the year should result in interesting digital transformation trends as well.