What does digital business mean, and is this concept outdated in the era of artificial intelligence? We argue that digitalisation and the digital transformation of business are more relevant themes than ever before.

Tools and technological opportunities are evolving at a remarkable pace, and thus it is particularly crucial to grasp the big picture of a company's digital business.

Digital business is about innovation

Digital business is a high-level concept that describes conducting and developing a company's business by leveraging new digital technologies. It encompasses the company’s own digital products and services, the development of company operations and processes utilising digitalisation, and enhancing the customer experience through modern technology. 

Examples of concrete manifestations of digital business:

• new digital distribution channels (e.g., online stores or connections to marketplaces)

• new digital products and services (e.g., software services, service platforms, loyalty portals)

• modernising internal process flows (e.g., automated order and supply chains)

• modernising sales and customer service (e.g., AI-based customer service, configurators, digital sales toolkits)

• data-driven management (e.g., novel combination, visualisation, and processing of business intelligence with AI tools)

• building a digital ecosystem in collaboration with various partners

How is digital business developed?

Digital business develops in stages. I find it easiest to describe a three-phase development process through concrete examples:

1. Information sharing and enrichment. In this phase, information is enriched and brought into a form that can be collectively utilised, while the processes remain the same.
   
   For example: The data of a car dealership’s used car inventory is consolidated from Excel tables into a unified DMS system. An online store transfers product information from shared Excel into a PIM system that suppliers can integrate with.
   
   
   

2. Process renewal. In this phase, internal and external processes are actively developed using digital tools.
   
   For example: A car dealership implements a reservation system for test drives on its website and builds an online option for applying for a financing decision.
   
   
   

3. Business transformation. In the final development phase, the entire business model is reformed using digital opportunities.
   
   For example: A car dealership starts offering used cars also as a subscription-based service, where customers can select cars through a digital platform, manage financing, and agree on home delivery as well as purchase additional services online.

It is true that the biggest success stories of recent years have emerged from the disruption and digitalisation of business models. The most successful mobile game brands, platform economy companies like Wolt, or Airbnb could not have been created just by enhancing information sharing or renewing old processes. They required entirely new thinking to disrupt established business models. 

Nonetheless, the majority of the benefits of digital business arise from improving information sharing and renewing old processes. There is still a significant amount of work to be done in these areas in most Finnish companies.

The eight areas of digital business

How to generate ideas for developing digital business steps within your own organisation? To support this discussion, I often introduce the concept of eight different areas through which one can start seeking business benefits.

The areas of digital business in more detail:

Where can Crasman assist?

Crasman has extensive experience in the design and implementation of e-commerce, online services, internal digital tools, and various data solutions. We consult and conceptualise all areas of digital business. design and implementation of online services.