A digital transformation is something that every business, regardless of size or industry, needs to consider. If you're unfamiliar with what exactly a digital transformation is, then this series is for you. It's a broad term, but it fundamentally changes how you operate internally and how you deliver value to your customers. In this first program, we'll take a deeper look at what digital transformation really means and go over the history of digitization. We'll also discuss how to reimagine your workplace to uncover the potential of a digital overhaul.

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, changing how you operate and deliver value to your customers. It requires a cultural change that pushes organizations to challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure. In this program, we'll go over common terms used alongside these transformations, giving viewers a deeper understanding of this process.

Business leaders are embracing digital transformation because they know it's the only way to stay relevant. But as companies advance from pilot programs to wide-scale implementation, they often run into an unexpected obstacle - workplace culture conflict. This massive, digital overhaul requires company-wide adoption and collaboration. How can your company make this transformation as seamless as possible within its own walls? In this course, we'll talk through various ways to implement a successful digital transformation with the buy-in and support of your entire team.

Even though each business is unique in the way digital capabilities will benefit them, there are clear steps that all leaders wanting to embark on their digital transformation journey should think about. That's what we'll cover in this course. We'll discuss redefining your businesses processes by looking at newly available technologies. We'll talk about the types of people you need onboard to help with this digital venture. We'll talk about understanding your customer's needs and how you can gain that information. Lastly, we'll go over how to define your outcomes and tie those back to your overall business strategy.

According to Tech Republic, 41% of senior leaders surveyed said their digital transformation efforts have been a "waste of time." Yikes. The whole point of digital transformation is to improve your customer experience and gain a good return on investment. How do we succeed at this and avoid the waste of time and money? That's what this course will dive into. As a leader, you should be a key player, continually, throughout the digital transformation process. Your role might involve many things like doing research, creating a vision, getting buy-in, and finding the right people to do the work. Here, we'll discuss these actions more in depth, and go over what and how much influence you should have over the digital transformation process.

While a digital transformation can be greatly beneficial, it can also be costly and time-consuming. There are many factors to consider before your company should make the decision to undergo a transformation. That's what this course is all about. We'll discuss how the size of your business, budget, and team competencies should factor into this decision. We'll go over questions you need to ask yourself before you move forward, including how new technology will help your business, how long that technology will last, and how much you should be paying attention to changes in the marketplace.

We know that a digital transformation will cost your company money and time, so how do we know if it's worth it? In this course, we'll go over some helpful ways to determine your return on investing in a digital transformation. We'll take a look at a framework, provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers, of key performance indicators you can use to measure the impact of digital transformation on various silos of your business. We'll talk about determining the impact on your customers, employees, and company operations. We'll also discuss digital security and infrastructure.

A digital transformation isn't only for your internal operations. One of its biggest benefits is to transform the way customers interact with you, your products, and your entire ecosystem. You first have to determine what your customers want from your business. Fortunately, there have been some great studies on what customers want out of digital technologies in the businesses they interact with. In this course, we'll talk about what some of those survey results show and what they mean to your business.

As you're digitally transforming your company, accumulating multiple new channels of communications, you're going to be presented with data. Lots and lots of data. Daunting? Yes, but highly profitable when used to your advantage. In this course, we'll discuss Big Data and the various ways you can collect and arrange it. We'll also go over what it can do for your company, including improving your customers' experiences, your employees' performance, and your customer service capabilities.

As a tech leader, a large part of the ongoing digital transformation process will fall under your supervision. Even if it's not something you're directly overseeing, the acquisition of new technologies, the adoption of those technologies into various departments, the recommendations of technology-based processes, skills training, and so much more are all things other leaders may come to you for. Which is why it's important that we talk about your role in a digital transformation. In this program, we'll discuss what you may be doing throughout the process, including gaining commitment from your teams, researching and planning, defining roles, responsibilities, and priorities, and more.

As a tech leader, you're looking to modernize and adopt newer technologies through digital transformation. But your infrastructure likely has outdated hardware, software, and communications systems that don't have the flexibility and agility you need to deliver high-quality results in a cost-effective manner. In this course, we'll talk about transforming your infrastructure to keep up with evolving business demands. We'll discuss infrastructure goals, transformation technologies, data storage, and more.

Possibly the most widely-used technology in digital transformation is cloud computing, which is the on-demand availability of resources, like data storage and computing power, without direct management by the user. Your business probably already uses cloud services in some way, so you should know how it can automate business processes and improve employee efficiency. In this program, we'll discuss the vast benefits of using cloud computing and go over how to properly integrate and deploy a cloud model to take advantage of those benefits. We'll talk about the different deployment models and cloud management platforms.

Throughout your company's digital transformation, you'll be communicating with more and more customers, partners, vendors, and employees. With each new channel that opens up, whether it's social media, the internet of things, or a new application, you're going to be presented with lots and lots of data. In this program, we'll discuss where to go with that data, and how to enable interoperability and collaboration. We'll talk about data-centric architectures and what they allow companies to do. We'll take a look at breaking down data silos so your data isn't getting stuck, and discuss sharing your data so it gets to the right place at the right time.