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Top 5 top digital transformation trends

Date : 2021-11-16

COVID-19 has changed the way we live. While most businesses suffered in 2020 due to the pandemic, they slowly began to embrace digitalization to tide over the crisis. As a result, the digital transformation of businesses started accelerating by the end of 2020.

What’s in store in 2021? Let us take a look at the key trends driving digital transformation this year.

Technology, especially digital, saved us from a lot of hardships last year amidst the COVID-19 global healthcare crisis. Digital technologies enabled businesses to run even though in limited capacities. It helped governments and the public sector organizations to provide necessary services to the citizens. By the end of 2021, expect digital transformation to play a much bigger role as companies reopen and restart their operations.

At Gemini Consulting & Services, we specialize in offering digital transformation strategy and technology implementation services to businesses. We help our clients in identifying digital transformation opportunities and handhold them through the implementation. Contact us to know how we can accelerate your digital transformation.

Here are 5 key trends that will drive digital transformation in the future.

Modernization of Businesses: Organizations across industries and of all sizes are under increasing pressure to digitalize their operations. MuleSoft’s Connectivity and benchmark report reveals that IT projects are likely to grow by 40%. Estimates also suggest that 92% of businesses are currently planning or undertaking digital transformation initiatives. Modernizing legacy systems, automating business processes and migrating applications to the cloud, are some of the key business goals that organizations want to achieve with their digital transformation programs.
Digital Experience: The pandemic has compelled even small businesses to adopt digital technologies in their day-to-day operations. It has also brought in many new customers to the digital economy. People who were previously shopping offline had no option but to buy groceries, medicines and other items online. Now, as businesses go for full-scale digital transformation, customer experience would be the key differentiator. Expect increased adoption of conversational apps, AI-driven chatbots and other engagement tools in the business.
Rise of Contactless Commerce: It was a compulsion to stop the spread of the virus. But it has become the new normal. Here, we are not just talking about online business but also brick and mortar businesses going contactless. Automatic doors, self-billing, digital payments and curbside pickups can transform the way business is done in 2021. Before the pandemic, contactless commerce didn’t fully resonate with consumers. While some retailers adopted it and younger customers showed interest in using it, its mainstream adoption was not as expected. In 2021, expect contactless commerce to go mainstream.
Growth of AI & ML: As businesses digitalize, they will be collecting more data and adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) deeply to harness their data and drive automation and innovation. A recent IDC survey confirms the growing adoption of AI worldwide. According to the survey, over 25% of all AI initiatives are in production and more than 1/3^rd of them is in advanced stages. And businesses will increase their AI spending this year. In 2021, expect businesses to move beyond adopting AI as a technology to AI as a strategy. AI will become the core for many businesses, and you will see new business models built around it.
Cybersecurity Concerns: The rapid acceleration in the digital transformation of businesses will put cybersecurity as a key concern. Digital businesses have always been susceptible to cyber-attacks. In 2020, we have witnessed cyber-attacks on Zoom, Twitter, MGM Resorts, Mariott etc. With 43% of cyberattacks directed at small businesses, we will see increased adoption of smart cybersecurity solutions. Expect AI and ML-driven security solutions powered with predictive capabilities to get popular this year.

When it comes to digital transformation in 2021, the possibilities are endless. Businesses will continue to adopt digital technologies in 2021 and we may see full-scale adoption in many sectors. With the lessons learned from 2020, expect to be pleasantly surprised in 2021, as organizations innovate to disrupt and try to regain their lost market space and cater to the new needs of the customers post-COVID.

Intelligent ERP systems help build smart enterprises

Date : 2021-11-23

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has come a long way since its introduction. Originally designed as monolithic on-premise systems for managing inventories and supply chains in the manufacturing industry, they gradually spread their applicability to other departments and industries. From on-premise, ERP systems have moved onto the cloud and have now transformed into intelligent ERP powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

The global market for cloud ERP solutions is projected to reach $101.1 billion by 2025 from $45.3 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 17.4%. Growing demand among businesses to streamline business processes and improve operational efficiency, the COVID-19 pandemic impact, and the growing adoption of cloud-based technologies are some of the factors driving the ERP market. That’s one part. The other interesting story playing out is the transformation of ERPs into intelligent ERPs running on data.

Evolution of Intelligent ERP (iERP)

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. To understand ERP in a simple way, think of all core processes of a business such as HR, supply chain, inventory, marketing, sales, finance, production etc., and then imagine\r\n a platform that integrates all your processes and helps you manage them\r\n with a single interface. An ERP system facilitates information sharing across the company.

The history of ERP systems dates back to 1960. However, it was only in the 1990s that it was properly defined. The term ‘Enterprise Resource Planning’ was coined by Gartner in 1990. Before ERP software, product-based organizations used ‘IC systems’ in the 1960s. These centralized systems were usually developed internally and were useful in tracking the availability of final products against monthly/quarterly production quotas.

The 1970s saw the emergence of Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) software. In the 1980s MRP systems advanced into Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) systems. Subsequent advancements in computation technologies and the evolution of business needs led to the development of ERP systems in the 1990s. In 1998, NetSuite launched cloud ERP, an application that is delivered remotely over the internet as a Software as a Service (SaaS) model.

Over the later years, new functionalities and features are being added to the ERPs like mobile access, integration support with other systems & apps and now AI and Machine Learning.

At Gemini Consulting & Services, we’re helping businesses adopt and implement iERP and transform into intelligent enterprises. We have a dedicated practice on customizing and supporting iERP wherein we help businesses to strengthen their digital strategy through various\r\n enterprise applications. Contact us to know how we can help you deploy and extract maximum value from an iERP system.

What is Intelligent ERP?

IDC defines Intelligent Enterprise Resource Planning (iERP) as software that leverages advanced analytics and machine learning to forecast, monitor, learn, analyze, report, and manage core processes of a business. iERP offers several opportunities for businesses to compete in hyper-competitive environments by leveraging data, automating processes and optimizing resources.

With intelligent ERPs, enterprises can modernize core back-end systems into agile systems to quickly adapt to changes in the economy, markets, technology, and customer needs. This can be achieved through the high-speed data processing powers of iERP. The ability to build extensions to iERP allows businesses to simplify and speed up their processes, such as customer billing and invoice-to-cash. iERP also empowers businesses to complement their processes with other technologies like AI, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotic process automation to transform and automate.

Benefits of iERP

Resource Optimization: Enterprises are under pressure to build more with fewer resources. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to businesses looking for ways to minimize dependence on human labor and drive automation. iERP can leverage data models and ML to drive automation in tasks that don’t require high skill sets and human intelligence.
Real-Time Decision Making: One of the biggest benefits of implementing iERP would be in leadership and decision-making. Real-time data processing capabilities and insights delivery by iERP means organizations would be able to better forecast and project and make data-driven decisions. It would also help them identify gaps and opportunities in their existing processes and optimize.
Higher Productivity: iERP systems are built for the modern world in experience, usefulness and user-friendliness. The software offers User Experience and personalization comparable to modern applications. Chatbots, virtual assistants and other tools will assist your employees in their tasks and drive their productivity.
Digital Transformation: If there was any confusion, the Covid-19 pandemic has resolved it forever. Digital is the future of business, commerce and common life. IERP can be the backbone of your digital transformation journey. digital transformation means building an intelligent, agile and innovation-driven business. The iERP software can help you just do that along with other technologies.

The evolution of iERP has been with the evolution of business needs. Businesses looking to transform business processes, reinvent business models, monetize their data for real-time insights and adopt digital as a culture will find an able partner in the iERP.

Gemini Consulting and Services