How managed service platforms can support your digital transformation strategy

The rise of digital technology platforms has been driving corporate disruption for years, but we are now approaching a tipping point. As the marketplace grows more and more competitive and the average lifespan of U.S. companies grows shorter and shorter, having a digital transformation strategy is an absolute imperative.

In fact, 87 percent of senior business leaders say that digitalization is now a priority, according to an article by Gartner in the Harvard Business Review. IDC predicted that businesses around the globe would spend $1.2 trillion on digital transformation in 2019, which is up by 18 percent from 2018.

Despite this apparent commitment, many businesses are struggling to develop digital transformation strategies that make the transition process efficient, smooth, and affordable. Managed services platforms can help accelerate the process and give small businesses a fighting chance against large corporations through enterprise-quality solutions without the overhead.

Here are four ways that managed services platforms can help support your organization’s digital transformation strategy.

1. Engaging with customers

Customers today expect personalized experiences. They want the messages they receive and the interfaces they use to reflect their needs. Personalization on a large scale is now possible thanks to the wealth of data about customers that businesses can access. Locked inside all that data are insights that can enable companies to create more detailed profiles of their users and make data-driven decisions about how to deliver value. Gartner research shows that organizations that focus their personalized messaging around helping consumers can expect 16 percent greater commercial outcomes than those that don’t.

Building a meaningful customer experience is one of the key benefits of a solid digital transformation strategy, and a managed services provider like Novatech can handle the analytical heavy lifting of personalization so businesses can become more responsive to customers’ needs quickly.

2. Setting employees up for success

The internet has fundamentally changed the way people work—and, just as importantly, their expectations around how and where they work. Remote work and distributed workforces are increasingly becoming the norm. Employees, especially younger ones, want the freedom and flexibility to work anytime, anywhere. Businesses that aim to hire competitively and retain employees need digital workflows that promote productivity. This means enabling employees to do things like access work email on their mobile devices, collaborate seamlessly across time zones, and print securely from a remote location.

Any digital transformation strategy should include solutions like Managed Print Services (MPS) that streamline, automate, and mobilize business processes to enhance productivity. An MPS provider can help control costs, support security, increase uptime, and maintain fleet predictability. There are also services-based platforms that streamline device management, which is becoming a critical issue as the internet of things gains momentum.

3. Staying vigilant against security threats

No digital transformation strategy is complete without consideration for security. A 2019 report by Accenture and the Ponemon Institute predicts that there will be $5.2 trillion total value at risk due to Cybercrimes through 2024. Those are losses no organization should endure.

As businesses digitize more of their processes and embrace digital workstreams, managed security service providers are playing a vital role in protecting businesses’ networks and data against malicious breaches. In addition, companies can look for partners in other areas that make security a priority. For instance, embedded security features and pull-printing capabilities can save printers from becoming vectors for bad actors.

4. Improving sustainability

Another major benefit of digital transformation is sustainability. A managed services platform can help businesses become more sustainable by reducing their employees’ environmental footprints, extending product lifespans, and migrating operations to the cloud. There’s software out there that can monitor energy usage, simplify reporting, and identify opportunities for energy savings within the workplace.

Furthermore, Device-as-a-Service solutions can take the lead on repairing devices and recycling them when you’re done with them, and cloud storage solutions can reduce the amount of hard storage a company needs—that’s good for the environment and for the bottom line.

A digital transformation strategy that is supported by a managed service provider such as Novatech can enable businesses to improve efficiency and productivity, tap into the latest innovations, and focus their energy on the mission-critical tasks that distinguish them in the market.

Novatech is a proud Partner First Managed Print Specialist