The Covid-19 pandemic changed the face of businesses, including the digital transformation strategy. The steady yet slow trends were faced out, and new adept trends that fit the fast-growing digital market set in. 2020 was a year that shocked numerous organizations and businesses out of apathy, forcing them to embrace new changes; less, they get kicked out of the market. This means that most organizations that want to stay ahead of the rest and stand up to competition must integrate insight and business tips from 2020 and merge them with some other promising trends to be in tandem with the business dynamics. Are you a business enthusiast or a business leader who wants to stay on top of the game? If so, this is your piece. Let's look at six digital transformation patterns in 2021.

  1. Moving forward, contactless solutions must be embraced.

With the new deadly virus in town, it is increasingly becoming dangerous to interact with clients face to face. For effective B2B activities, the business must embrace contactless solutions to digitally transform their business. We are now seeing a depreciation in the use of cash transfers, and the few premises still using them are working wits out to embrace the new norm. This means that electronic transfers will be more useful than ever before as the physical cash transfers face out. Even for meetings, contactless solutions must be featured. Instead of holding physical meetings, the top organizations are now planning and actualizing meetings on online platforms like the Zoom app. Other solutions include video conferencing methods. The business will be abreast with the new norms that the Covid-19 pandemic has pacesetter with contactless solutions embraced.

  1. Social media marketing will remain steady

Of course, social media marketing, as a digital transformation strategy, has been in the market for more than the past two decades. However, with the many unique dynamics that the Covid-19 pandemic has set in digital marketing, social media marketing will be used more adeptly in 2021. For instance, many organizations have been using Pay Per Click advertising criterion to promote their brands. This will continue further, as Facebook users are growing in number day in day out. Besides, BigTech businesses have used YouTube well to market brands, which is in use in 2021. Instead of creating 'boring' content for 'boring' products, companies are now using YouTube to feature fun as employees work, run processes, and accomplish their goals. They are also using co-marketing, where they are engaging influencers with a massive following to boost brands. Companies using Instagram to create brand awareness are doing their best to feature unique content to hold their clients.

  1. Predictive and prescriptive technologies will keep up-surging

As the Covid-19 pandemic kept creeping into various world areas, scientists and healthcare practitioners could predict with a high level of accuracy the extent to which the infection was going to affect regions. This created a wise scientific realization- prediction algorithms can accurately see into the future. Consequently, many organizations are investing their resources in embracing predictive analytics to create an algorithm for their operations. For instance, when a seemingly promising business deal arises, they do not just jump into it. Rather, prediction analytics are used to see the likely consequences of such a venture. Sometimes, an opportunity will arise but will look intimidating and risky. Still, the organizations with prediction algorithms run them to see ahead of what would be the likely consequences of the new venture. Furthermore, these analytics are more prescriptive in nature. This ensures that the forecasts are not haphazard in presentation but elaborate and explanatory. With such prescriptive analytics, digital transformation is now taking place accurately. It poses little risk to the organizations that run fragile and imperative processes.

  1. Many organizations are now investing in cloud technologies.

The pandemic has shown businesses new challenges, especially those regarding data access. Because of the limited access and reduce physical interactions that the pandemic has featured, there was an increased need to invest in cloud technologies. This owes to the fact that storing an organization's data has many advantages, including business flexibility. For instance, when a company has its data stored in the cloud, it can access the data remotely at any time, and any place as need be. This does not tie down the company in any manner. Besides, cloud data storage ensures scalability in the organization, a factor that makes the business more agile and resilient. As new dynamics feature in, the company dances to this music while still realizing profits.

  1. Sustainable companies must embrace innovation

If there is any lesson the Covid-19 has taught businesses, innovation is the spinal cord of businesses. In essence, for firms to remain operational, they must feature in innovation. This owes to the fact that the supply chain and its trends keep changing. This being the case, organizations must feature new methods to have businesses standing. With innovation, companies can increase their agility by more than 65%. Besides, up-to-date innovations influence by more than 80% how much a company procures. In 202 and beyond, innovation is among the major digital transformation trends that will keep a brand alive.

  1. Omni-channel retailing will keep being the savior

2020 was a major challenge to businesses and supply chains because of the seemingly independent but many unnecessary departments that they had. While independence is fairly good for a business, having so many micro-departments makes data centralization an almost impossible mission. Consequently, inventory management headaches set in those businesses. For serious companies that want to solve their inventory management issues, omnichannel retailing will be the new norm. This will ensure data centralization within the company. When there is a need to effect a fluid decision, this will be possible without a doubt.

Conclusion

2020 was a year like no other, setting in new challenges in the digital market. While some of these challenges were already featured in the market, they took a new shape that shook organizations to apathy. Consequently, there was a need to follow new digital transformation strategies to keep the businesses in tandem with the new challenges. This article has discussed six digital transformation trends featured in 2021 and beyond in the post-pandemic world.