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In 2020, COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation at an unprecedented rate. “A new survey finds that responses to COVID-19 have speeded the adoption of digital technologies by several years—and that many of these changes could be here for the long haul,” stated McKinsey and Company. Even before the pandemic began, implementing new technologies fast enough to keep up with competition was a challenge for many organizations. Now that the coronavirus crisis has sped up the process of digital transformation, companies are hanging on for dear life and looking for resources to help them manage these changes.
The reason COVID-19 forced companies into quick digital transformation is simple: businesses had no choice but to implement technologies that would enable them to go contactless out of the health and safety of their employees and customers. “Searches for terms such as ‘contactless’ increased 7x between November and late April, while the stocks of technology companies aligned with new-found customer health and safety concerns have skyrocketed,” wrote a contributor to Deloitte Insights. Throughout the pandemic, organizations overwhelmingly invested in apps related to ecommerce, videoconferencing, and grocery and food delivery services in an attempt to meet the need for contactless business.
A McKinsey Global Survey of executives confirmed the idea that digital transformation was accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. They found that companies have fast tracked the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions, as well as of their internal operations, by between three and four years, within the context of the COVID-19 crisis. “And the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has accelerated by a shocking seven years,” wrote a contributor.
Most companies won’t be able to adapt to the lightening-fast rate of digital transformation without the aid of experts who can help them accomplish this. Business analysis professionals can be very helpful to businesses attempting to navigate the choppy waters of digital transformation in the age of COVID-19. The Uncommon League went so far as to say that a business analyst should lead your company’s digital transformation.
Business analysis professionals with deep knowledge of digital transformation are able to help companies in this area because their focus is on delivering business value while acting as trusted advisors for organizations that need to adapt quickly to their new reality. Those who practice business analysis understand customers’ competitors, and they understand innovative technologies that meet the demands of the pandemic-changed business world. Additionally, they have the soft skills needed to foster digital transformation, such as change management and facilitation skills.
As the world around us changes faster and faster, business analysts will continue to play a big role in digital transformation. Business analysis professionals can help drive rapidly changing digital transformation needs with IIBA’s suite of specialized business analysis certifications, including the Certification in Business Data Analytics (IIBA®- CBDA) and informative discussion papers such as the Business Analysis and Digital Transformation.
COVID-19 has disrupted the business sector on nearly every level. Organizational leaders should look to business analysis professionals to help them not only adjust to the changing digital transformation landscape, but to thrive in spite of it.
