#digital transformation implementation

Implementing digital transformation is a paradigm shift in the way an organization approaches its core philosophy. Digital dependency is now an evolving process that leans more on the on-boarding of people into this mindset rather than actuating transformational technologies.

Software applications lie at the core of any IT infrastructure and help the latter to function as per expectations. These help organizations and enterprises to achieve their digital transformational goals including the delivery of superior customer experiences. To ensure such applications deliver value for money and do not run the risk of any failure, they are subjected to several rounds of testing. Importantly, the customers of today access applications on a plethora of device platforms, operating systems, databases, browsers, and networks, among others. They expect the applications to perform uniformly across platforms and can summarily discard them in the event of any malfunction or quality issue. Compatibility testing entails the testing of software applications across digital environments to validate their performance. It is a necessary cog in the wheel for digital transformation implementation.

Why mobile compatibility testing?

Mobile applications have become a rage among people on-the-go. They have brought the fruits of digitization to the people at large and enabled them to buy products, access information, or avail services, quickly, securely, and conveniently. However, the biggest challenge testers face in validating any software is the multiplicity of devices. For example, the number of mobile devices is projected to touch a whopping 16.8 billion in 2023 (source: Statista.) These devices are of different brands, features, hardware configuration, software and firmware requirements, screen size, and network operators, among others.

So, not only the mobile devices have issues of compatibility with their competing brands but can have differences with their brand line as well. This is where a special type of testing called mobile compatibility testing comes into play. It focuses on testing the compatibility of mobile apps across device platforms, software, firmware, operating systems, browsers, databases, and networks, among others. An application compatibility testing process ensures the seamless performance of application across these digital elements.

Types of compatibility testing

Any device compatibility testing allows developers and testers to achieve improved application performance. It consists of two types:

Forward testing: The testing validates the compatibility of an application with newer versions of operating systems.

Backward testing: Here, the testing process validates the compatibility of the application designed with the latest environment version with that of its older version. For example, if the backward testing of an application is conducted for Windows operating system, its compatibility should be tested for both the latest Windows 10 version as well as the older ones like Windows XP, Windows 7 etc.

What happens if compatibility testing of applications is skipped?

Customer experience has become the differentiator for software applications to be adopted or discarded. It is directly related to the performance of any digital company in the market. Simply put, if the customer experience offered by any product is below par, the company can lose its position in the market. And one of the prominent attributes leading to excellent customer experiences is the product’s compatibility across platforms. These platforms could be the operating systems, their newer versions, browsers, hardware configuration of devices, and mobile networks. If device compatibility testing is skipped, the results could be telling for the application and its brand:

Differences in UI: Each device has its configuration for the UI interface to run smoothly. However, it would require a particular look, feel, font size, resolution, and alignment for any application to work. In the absence of any compatibility testing exercise, this aspect of the application can remain unresolved for different devices.

Persistence of quality issues: Compatibility testing helps in identifying glitches in a software application, which otherwise can render it unsuitable to function across devices. Further, if such glitches are not fixed in time before delivery, the cost of fixing them later can be high. This can hit the profitability of any business big time.

Hits user expectations: The success of digital transformation solutions depends, to a large extent, to their compatibility across digital environments. Users are wont to expect applications that perform seamlessly on multiple platforms. If performance slackens due to issues of usability, stability, and scalability, then user expectations can take a massive hit. And in a world of tough competition where users look for fast loading, reasonably priced, feature-rich, and functional applications to meet their expectations, any lack of user experience can sound the death knell for that application.

Conclusion

Digital technologies, no matter how complex or challenging for businesses to implement, have been accepted as an inevitable facet of modern times. The examples of hovering drones delivering products, virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa answering customer queries, or smart devices like Google Home or Amazon Echo has become commonplace. The advent of new technologies is a testimony to the growing customer expectations of glitch-free products or services. Enterprises, in order to stay competitive and deliver great customer experiences, are embracing digital transformation in a big way. Accordingly, legacy systems are being replaced or upgraded with newer technologies embracing SMAC (Social media, mobility solutions, Analytics, and Cloud).

As customer experience becomes the catalyst for driving enterprises to invest in competitive solutions for sustainable growth, QA assumes significance. To make digital transformation implementation effective on the ground, the software and systems need to be tested rigorously. This is all the more important as digital transformation services touch the most important aspect of people’s lives. Rigorous QA testing helps in identifying glitches in software and makes it fit for customer acceptance. The success of any digital transformation journey is underpinned on the usage of the right tools, standards, processes, protocols, and methodologies. When the ultimate objective is to deliver a superior customer experience, then QA should be a part of the digital transformation strategy. In fact, enterprises should look at the quality transformation to realize the impact of digital transformation implementation.

Why quality transformation is required to deliver digital transformation?

Quality, as the most critical attribute of a product, can only be ensured if every process or department in an organization enforces it. It calls for implementing a set of protocols and regulations cutting across departments or processes for every transaction or activity. It is important to realize the DevOps outcomes of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery of builds. So, how to achieve quality transformation in the first place?

Achieve a speed of testing through test automation: Since the testing of codes should be for multiple channels, the QA teams should use test automation. The automated test suites can run quick tests by leveraging virtual users to achieve DevOps and Agile goals.

Activate the feedback loop: Silo-driven processes can often be the impediments in giving the right feedback about a product. This leads enterprises to identify any fault later in the SDLC and rendering mitigation, time-consuming and costly. However, by incorporating the shift-left approach where the development and QA teams work in tandem, feedback on glitches can be exchanged fast.

Incorporate AI-driven analytics: Artificial Intelligence has come as a shot in the arm for testers and developers. It analyzes past patterns of data to identify the presence of glitches in processes. This helps in speeding up the QA process and ensuring a seamless CI/CD pipeline. Moreover, when the security of applications has become a critical quality requisite, AI-driven analytics can help in creating robust software.

Let us understand with an example as to why testing transformation is essential to realize the benefits of digital transformation solutions:

A retail chain going for digital transformation implementation to deliver great customer experiences can court trouble if the software contains glitches. This can expose the software to security breaches and the loss of sensitive customer data. If not addressed in time, the same can have implications for the retail chain. These may include the loss of customer trust, inviting regulatory censure or penalties, or class suits from clients/customers.

Implementing the right digital testing strategy

To gain a competitive edge in the market and deliver the right customer experiences, enterprises need to tune into the latest trends. These include big data, mobility services, AI-driven analytics, and cloud services, among others. In fact, QA transformation can help enterprises to adopt new and disruptive technologies.

Digital transformation envisions the adoption and integration of disruptive technologies to provide an omnichannel experience to the customers. However, enterprises face a slew of challenges when embracing such technologies. These are mainly related to the integration of both technologies (new and existing), changing the work culture, and training the workforce, among others. This is where QA transformation can help enterprises to take a gradual approach in managing, measuring, and implementing technologies.

Conclusion

To address the diverse needs and challenges concerning digital transformation, the quality testing process should be changed accordingly. It is only by testing the transformation of processes or workflows that the fruits of digital transformation can be obtained. This encompasses the conduct of rigorous testing across the value chain comprising cloud, web portals, devices, browsers, operating systems, and networks.

In today’s tech-driven environment, digitalization has become the key for enterprises to achieve their business objectives and stay competitive. The objectives include streamlining the value chain, improving work efficiency, increasing productivity, cost optimization, reducing waste, delivering high-quality output, achieving customer satisfaction and profit maximization. Without the incorporation of latest digital trends, your business is likely to nosedive in the face of intense competition. Thus, it is no more feasible to turn a blind eye to the significance of digitalization. Furthermore, it is through the harnessing of right digital technologies that a company can achieve ROI, stay ahead of its rivals, understand the trends of the dynamic consumer market, and chart its future course of action. Notwithstanding the uncertainty and cost involved in adopting digital transformation, it is an attractive strategy for businesses to keep pace with the competitive digital ecosystem of today. Find below some of the tips that can help your business undergo a hassle-free digital transition.

Steps to achieve a hassle-free digital transition

1. A roadmap for going digital- Businesses can face hiccups in their pursuit to go digital. However, you can strategize a plan that includes the listing of business priorities, short-term and long-term objectives and practical timelines to achieve the same. It shall minimize the procedural hiccups in the value chain, thereby enabling your firm to get the maximum benefits.

2. Prepare the IT infrastructure- Without a proper IT infrastructure in place, a company is likely to face hassles and uncertainty while going digital. Make sure the enterprise has a robust internet speed, information security features and wireless connectivity to bring its digital transition strategy to fruition.

3. Pick the appropriate technologies- The goals and size of a company determine its business requirement. Therefore, not every digital trend is suitable to be implemented across business verticals. One should estimate the practical needs of a business before opting for the correct digital technology.

4. Upgrade your manpower- To leverage enterprise digital transformation, the workforce needs to be well-versed with the digital trends of the day like data science, machine learning among others. By imparting proper training and guidance to your employees, your firm can maximize its profitability due to improved productivity.

Given below are some of the latest digital trends, which need to be implemented should you aim to achieve the maximum ROI for your business.

1. The requirement of ERP- The complexity of today’s business needs an integrated approach wherein a slew of interconnected applications can help to manage the business by automating the process flows across departments. With the implementation of the ERP solution, real-time operations like inventory management, payroll management, vendor management etc can be simplified by using automated reports that are generated by the system. This software creates an overarching architecture that ensures seamless collaboration among various business segments. From keeping a record of payroll to tracking the flow of resources, an ERP can link isolated processes to the centralized database of the business. By employing such a digital business transformation solution, business owners can take faster decisions and make informed choices to increase their profit margins.

2. Cloud storage- Cloud based storage has emerged as a significant component of the digital transformation initiatives taken by businesses. It provides a low cost but highly efficient and capacious model of storing data across the value chain. Modern businesses rely on cloud-based storage facilities to optimize cost, enhance mobility, and reduce their dependence on maintaining a robust in-house system. They can choose from cloud models like public, private or hybrid and use them as SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS platform. The cloud storage, especially the private one provides enhanced security to protect data from cyber threats like malware, virus, and trojans etc. These reasons explain why cloud storage has become an indispensable part of the digital transformation solutions of today.

3. Age of automated testing- The need to develop quality software application has necessitated the implementation of automated testing in the SDLC. As a part of the Agile-DevOps paradigm, automated testing helps in the quicker identification of glitches and achieve outcomes like Continuous Testing and Delivery. It helps businesses to overcome the shortcomings of manual testing related to human fatigue and inaccurate error handling to produce high-quality software.

4. Big Data in today’s age- Modern business processes generate a copious amount of data that traditional data processing tools cannot handle. This is where big data, a trend in digital transformation, has become popular due to the existence of 3Vs- Velocity, Volume, and Variety. Not only do a big data system facilitates the saving of huge volumes of data, it stores them in a variety of formats like images, text, audio, and video as well. Velocity, known for the real-time transmission of data in the realm of big data technology, allows swift coordination among various business segments. Having steady access to big data brings in a number of benefits for businesses such as long-term cost savings, understanding the latest market conditions, effective customer management, and brand promotion through improved operations and management.

Conclusion

To derive multiple benefits by embracing advanced digital technologies, businesses should give digital transformation implementation a serious thought. Revamping business practices by leveraging digital technologies can help them enhance their value proposition and achieve ROI.

A growing number of companies are attempting to independently alter their businesses to satisfy the increasing needs and expectations of the modern, technically advanced customer. However few are prepared for the inner disruption that causes during the whole enterprise, which explains the reason why culture change and change management is so essential.

For electronic transformation to be prosperous, companies will need to embrace agile methodologies, procedures and working practices. Becoming an agile company demands a cultural shift. Likewise, as electronic transformation is mainly driven by the changing requirements and expectations of consumers, Digital Transformation plans are crucial and efficiently developing and implementing these new strategies demands a more integrated and fluid business enterprise.

Firms whose electronic conversion projects neglect are often guilty of neglecting to put solid foundations:

Agile

Customer-Centric

Omni-Channel Expertise

Placing these base stones necessitates tremendous culture shift within the organization and handling this procedure is tough. Regrettably, if your organization would like to be prosperous, it's inevitable.

Because of the ever changing and evolving nature of today's world, companies will need to cultivate a new culture of perpetual revolution.