How to Unleash Transformative Potential of Digitalization

Digitalization is the snowball of transformation that will not stop and will crush all those organizations that do not prepare and completely adjust their operation to take full advantage of the growth opportunity it represents. To put it in perspective, according to Statista, the enterprise software industry alone will represent an estimated value of US$2.2 billion for Mexico in 2028. Therefore, the resistance to change that — although it is decreasing more and more every year — is still present among the country's companies could mean a wasted opportunity to boost development.

In a similar vein, a study conducted by DocuSign in collaboration with International Data Corporation (IDC), estimates that by 2026, business investments in information technology (IT) will reach US$15.4 billion, and just over half of the organizations expect that by 2027, between 26% and 49% of their revenue will come from digital products and services. 

Mexico has registered an increase of 11.3% of business spending in IT, a growth four times higher than that of the country's GDP. Despite the clear potential of digitization, it is striking that 43% of companies begin to invest in technology reactively. In other words, when they face a need that only digital tools can solve.

On the other hand, 36% of Mexican companies that have already opted for digital transformation mainly belong to the technology, telecommunications, construction and manufacturing sectors, registering benefits and improvements in efficiency, automation of processes and repetitive tasks, collaboration, and data accuracy. In addition, the tools and applications with the highest adoption among these companies are eSignature, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms, administrative management and operational efficiency. Toward the future of business digitalization, the impactful eruption of solutions based on artificial intelligence is positioned as a priority for 14% of companies.

It is of the utmost importance, then, to identify the main obstacles that companies highlight to make the leap to digitization. In this sense, the most frequently mentioned factors in the DocuSign and IDC study include the perception of complexity and technical difficulty for the adoption of digital solutions, obstacles and complications in identifying areas of opportunity to digitize their internal processes, cultural resistance to change, and detecting the ideal digital solutions or suppliers for their needs.

Therefore, we can assume that the country's lag in business digitization is related to the general lack of tech knowledge at the companies, with a perception of difficulty in the technical implementation of solutions, a task that dedicated suppliers can help them to achieve. Interestingly, the companies are also overwhelmed by the market’s wide offer and the misinformation of what to look for when choosing a partner for the digitization of their operations.

To overcome this obstacle, providers of enterprise digital solutions for cloud services and process automation should identify the sectors and companies that are encountering difficulties in their transformation process, reach out to them and explain in a clearer way the advantages that can be obtained with their tools, the different use cases available and how they can benefit.

Technological progress has advanced to such a degree that these perceptions of difficulty or complexity on the road to digital transformation are no longer accurate. Tools and solutions are becoming more and more end-user friendly, and there is an entire industry of experts willing to help companies aiming to reach this goal, which offers more benefits than obstacles, even when the expense makes organizations hesitate to take the first step. The benefits obtained in the short, mid and long term are much greater, opening a new business landscape for those seeking to obtain unprecedented development. 

Commercial and growth opportunities do not only belong to large organizations, and in that sense it is striking that the DocuSign and IDC study reveals that only 48% of SMEs have experimented with digital solutions such as electronic signature, which has resulted in a 75% increase in productivity, a vital performance for entrepreneurs to stand out in the market.

Among other benefits that digital tools, such as eSignature, can bring to companies, regardless of their size, are savings in operating costs of US$36 on average per contract or agreement made through DocuSign compared with traditional printed methods, an improvement in response times of 80% on average, as well as higher levels of customer satisfaction.

In terms of optimizing operational times, platforms such as DocuSign register that 78% of successful transactions are completed in less than 24 hours, and even 43% are done within 15 minutes. While contract execution processes times are reduced from 24 hours to just 4, a time optimization of 83%.

Success stories of companies that have grown exponentially hand in hand with digital transformation abound, and we find them in virtually any sector, with benefits in productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction and profits as the main banners, which also significantly increase competitiveness and differentiate organizations in the market. This is a development opportunity that Mexico cannot miss.