Digital Transformation Tools in 2023

Digital transformation has been a guiding star for many businesses for many years now. However, most of them still fail when implementing and using the digital tools they have at their disposal. It is becoming evident that leaders of tomorrow are not the ones with the most resources to implement a range of digital transformation tools but those who know how to use them to benefit the business.

Reach out to us and we’ll help you choose and implement various digital transformation tools your business needs!

Essential tools to support digital transformation

Organizations must equip themselves with efficient and innovative digital tools. Those organizations that are successfully transforming their businesses have proven how modern platforms and numerous communication and organizational tools are becoming indispensable parts of digital transformation and business success. A variety of tools can help improve a digital workplace if they are not considered as only expenses. Using the right tools is a long-term investment to stay ahead of competitors and enhance the organization’s sustainability.

The next-gen tools to improve digital transformation in 2023

Technology transforms how employees collaborate, communicate with customers, complete tasks, and manage operational processes. It’s also allowing organizations to meet the evolving needs of their customers.

Using the right tools saves you time and increases your team’s engagement at work. Here are 11 tools you need to use in 2023 to make that happen.

Digital adoption platforms (DAPs)

We intentionally start the list with digital adoption platforms. Digital adoption is the biggest challenge in digital transformation.

One-third of all ERP implementation projects fail.

Without a good adoption strategy, you can expect similar success rates for adoption in other areas than CRM, such as ERP, project management, or collaboration tools. Companies should take more time to train their employees on the new technology. Digital adoption platforms solve this problem.

A digital adoption platform allows your L&D and digital leaders to create custom-made app guidance, such as walkthroughs, smart tips, task lists, and tutorials to help users navigate the app. DAPs are particularly effective at onboarding employees, customers, and users.

Best of all, DAPs let you monitor how users interact with tools and see which features users typically struggle with. With DAP, you can track user behavior within applications and the usage history of specific help content.

Organizations can create product tours, provide contextual tips for each user type, control the visibility of help widgets, and more. Instead of explaining workflows over and over or helping with troubleshooting, embed Whatfix’s self-help widget into your apps – so employees or users can search for answers to their questions and find support documents when needed.

To help you with digital transformation across the board, Whatfix integrates with CRM systems, HCM platforms, knowledge base software, collaboration platforms, and other tools used by your teams.

Besides Whatfix, there are a few more tools you’ll want to pay attention to, like Appcues and Userlane!

For example, Appcues fully integrates into your product, making its guidance native. This enables customers to have a consistent experience throughout your product. And Userlane can help you with in-app communication so you can send messages directly to users to provide support, get more feedback, or promote something new in your app!

Only 8% of companies worldwide achieve their intended business outcomes with their digital transformation investments.

Recommended ➜ Read about the impact of digital transformation on business growth

Digital Workplace Suites

76% of organizations have already moved to a hybrid workplace model. Likely, your company has as well. If so, you need a digital workplace tool. 

Digital workplace suites provide digitized alternatives to face-to-face office environments for distributed teams. Not only do they take on the role of physical offices, but they also go beyond what a traditional workplace can provide. Tools like the eXo Platform enable effective cross-company communication, provide a high level of data security, allow effortless knowledge management, and offer innovative employee rewards programs.

The breakroom has gone even further. The Metaverse platform provides an immersive digital workplace experience. Instead of offering 2D collaboration tools, the platform enables fully customizable 3D workspaces.

Recommended ➜ Read about the process of starting a DAO

Team communication and collaboration tools

Team collaboration and communication platforms are more than just messaging apps – they’re digital workplaces where most business processes occur.

Your business can be fully distributed, hybrid, or on-premise; either way, an online collaboration tool is critical. Even if your employees work from one room, it’s counterproductive to distract the whole team when they want to ask a question or discuss a project.

However, small, hybrid, and on-site companies need to approach the digitization of internal communications differently. While remote companies rely entirely on their online collaboration tools, companies that follow a hybrid working model need to find a way to keep everyone updated on ongoing discussions both offline and online.

Simple communication tools like Slack suit companies of all sizes and types. These tools are usually chosen by fully remote or hybrid teams and complemented by a dedicated project management platform. Within the platforms, companies can set up separate channels for different teams and projects, share files, create custom bots, etc.

There are also more complex tools, such as Microsoft Teams, which hybrid teams prefer. The alternative to whiteboards where hybrid teams can collaborate in real-time best option will be Miro.

Out of many tools available, one must be noticed – cloud-based suites. These collaborative suites allow employees to access data and resources anywhere at all times. For organizations seeking to make the most of their digital workplace, collaborative suites are crucial to successful adaptation.

Best online collaboration tools that we are using in Lumen Spei ltd. daily to boost our productivity:

1. Asana
   The web and mobile “work management” platform is designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work.
2. Clocky
   The most popular free-time tracker for teams
3. Slack
   Slack is an instant messaging program designed by Slack Technologies and owned by Salesforce.
4. Calendly
   Modern scheduling platform that makes “finding time” a breeze. When connecting is easy, your teams can get more done.
5. Google Workspace
   Collection of cloud computing, productivity, collaboration tools, software, and products developed and marketed by Google.
6. Microsoft Teams (part of Office 365)
   Online Meeting Platform
7. Zoom
   Online Meeting Platform
8. Figma
   The collaborative interface design tool.
9. Intranet tools

The intranet tools are next-level collaboration tools. These platforms connect your applications to an intranet portal and permit you to access your documents through a dashboard. It’s a custom channel for internal use.

Many say intranet software portals are outdated; they’ve been the only way to consolidate businesses’ devices and channels. You can build a robust and employee-centric intranet by using an intranet tool in combination with a communication platform like Sharepoint, Slack, or Microsoft Teams.

Workplace by Meta, Honey, and LumApps, are good examples of intranet tools for emerging teams and businesses. 

For example, here is why LumApps is a good choice!

• Newscenter with company, news, updates, and PR activities
• Leadership Corner – the communication tool for a C-level;
• An HR portal that displays information, FAQs, job boards, surveys, and more.

Recommended ➜ Read about how Web 3.0 technologies impact digital transformation

Cloud CRMs

Introducing a cloud CRM solution is an inevitable part of the digital transformation process. Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms help companies do just that:

• Generate and store leads
• Plan sales funnels
• Shorten sales cycles
• Manage customer interactions
• Align marketing and sales teams
• Cross-selling and upselling customers
• Increase customer retention, etc.

In most cases, the features of enterprise CRM systems are broader than just one CRM. With tools like HubSpot, you can access all the features necessary for marketing, sales, and support teams through a single interface. Even CMS software is integrated into the toolkit

HubSpot CRM is great for businesses that want to use the free version and large companies willing to invest heavily in building a custom solution with the HubSpot API. But as a small business or startup in its early stages, you’re better off opting for a less complex solution like SugarCRM or SuperOffice.

For large enterprises, there are more powerful CRM platforms you should consider. Platforms like Salesforce CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, and Freshworks CRM are all excellent solutions for large enterprises. Like HubSpot, enterprise CRM software can act as an ecosystem of tools that provides a foundation for an entire company’s marketing, sales, and customer support teams.

Although 90% of companies with more than 15 employees use CRM tools, CRM adoption among end users still needs to grow. The problem is rooted in the complexity of the solutions and the lack of product-specific training.

Recommended ➜ Read about the role of big data in digital transformation

HCM platforms

Companies must invest in HCM software to empower the HR department’s digital transformation process. HCM stands for human capital management. It involves streamlining and improving the following processes:

• Workforce planning, onboarding, training, recruiting and hiring, 
• administration, analytics, reporting, etc.
• Workday, Zenefits, and BambooHR are the most popular HCM platforms in HR.

These platforms help organize all the data throughout an employee’s lifecycle – from hiring to leaving. Onboarding, payroll, and benefits can be managed directly through a single interface.

Cloud storage

Cloud storage is the only way to avoid data loss and access the resources you need whenever you or your team members need them.

You must require all your employees to upload everything they are working on to the cloud. With this, it’s possible to complete the digital transformation.

There are free and paid tools that offer cloud storage services:

• It will be the best case if you have an option for Companies private cloud.
• Google Drive – starting at $8 per user per month (free plan available);
• Dropbox – starting at $12.50 per user per month (free plan available);
• Sync – starting at $5 per user per month (free plan available);
• IDrive – from $69.50 per year (free plan available)

Digital accounting tools

Digitizing finance and accounting is a challenging but essential step for any business in 2023. If you still need to do so, it’s time to select, implement and, most importantly, adopt a digital accounting tool.

Many digital accounting tools could meet the specific needs of your accountants. When selecting such a tool, consult with your finance department. What tasks do they solve every day? What do they struggle with? How is payroll currently handled?

Small businesses and freelancers looking for a user-friendly interface and simple features use Freshbooks, a user-friendly accounting software. On the other hand, fast-growing companies that need a scalable solution often opt for QuickBooks Online and Xero. These tools provide an overview of your accounting, automate invoicing and reporting, manage payments and invoices, and more.

Recommended ➜ Read about the data silos and their impact on your business

Drive adoption of all your next-generation digital apps with Lumen Spei ltd.

As we mentioned, digital adoption platforms are at the heart of all digital transformation efforts. DAPs help facilitate change, drive the adoption of new digital tools, and provide on-demand performance support for ongoing training and support for employees, customers, and users.

While it’s true that all of these platforms offer great intelligent solutions for businesses – with a proper adoption and end-user support strategy, your employees and customers can move on. They will feel overwhelmed and frustrated with the new processes, which will impact productivity and performance and result in customer churn.

Support your digital transformation efforts with the Lumen Spei team. to provide contextual software guidance to your internal users. Drop us a call or reach out to us over email and let’s talk about your digital transformation!

Krunoslav Ris

Digital Transformation Consultant | Author | FinTech Specialist | University Lecturer | Executive Director @ Lumen Spei ltd. As a Senior Digital Transformation Leader experienced in driving organizational change and managing high-growth agendas, I have spent more than 20 years bringing technology to life, leading digital strategy across multiple channels, transforming ideas that have led to multi-million-dollar businesses, and executing the profitable deployment of new technologies across multiple industries.

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