Digital transformation has become an increasingly popular term these days. Regardless of the industry you work in, you have probably already heard of it. 

Digital transformation (DX) is the adoption of digital technologies to enhance an organization's products, services and operations. The successful deployment of a digital transformation strategy can help improve overall business efficiency. 

Similarly, web scraping has also seen a surge in popularity lately within the business world.

How does web scraping work and what is it used for? 

Web scraping is defined as the automatic process of collecting web data for any public website in a structured format.  Scraping tools and data extraction software help collect information quickly and accurately from various sources to make the best business decisions.

Furthermore, both the digital transformation and web scraping industries show no signs of slowing down.

A study by IDC shows global digital transformation investments will reach US$3.4 trillion in 2026, and a five year CAGR of 16.3%.

Every major organization is taking the leap to incorporate digital transformation in their operations.

And one key component at the core of a successful digital transformation – data. 

This article shows how web scraping and data extraction can help successfully navigate your digital transformation journey. 

Automated web data scraping & digital business transformation

DX vendors that automate data extraction and web scraping gain a better understanding of their customer’s industries and can tailor better solutions to empower their clients.

A solid digital transformation strategy is crucial for companies to leverage digital technologies (and data), and turn them into a key part of their business. 

This is precisely where web scraping and digital transformation intertwine.

Web scraping is a powerful tool to support digital transformation as it helps organizations collect and use data more efficiently. Providing valuable data, market insights, automates processes, and improves customer experience.

It helps address key pain points and improve digital transformation efforts. But it's not that simple.

Digital transformation challenges

The global economic landscape is constantly changing, and companies need to be prepared for change. 

Enterprises must identify and assess the risks associated with global economic changes, such as increases in interest rates in the different countries they operate. 

They should also plan for potential legislation changes or geopolitical events and ensure their operations are aligned with local standards. 

The challenges:

• Understand the continuous evolution of customer needs
• Supply Chain Management 
• How to achieve economies of scale
• Being quick and efficient to scale outsourcing demands

As you can see there are many set-backs and they are not easy to overcome. 

It’s imperative to understand the impact of data and how to be a data-driven organization to address digital transformation pain-points and improve operational efficiency. From there, data extraction and web scraping are a starting point to implement a sustainable digital transformation strategy.

Let's look into how web data scraping can help.

How does web scraping work in digital transformation?

Through the use of different tools and web scraping software, organizations can gather data and scale up their web scraping efforts. This helps better understand customer behavior, assess market trends, and track competitor activity, among other uses. 

Digital transformation providers play a major role in helping a myriad of organizations integrate and simplify their daily operations to improve performance through advanced digital technologies. These range from cloud services, big data, data analysis, predictive analysis, quantum computing, Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among other technologies. 

By working with valuable and reliable data from public websites, you get new insights that enhance your service offerings, uncover new business opportunities, solve internal pain points, and improve your overall decision making.

Enterprise data extraction plays a key role in driving the success of a digital business transformation, as it helps organizations better understand how to utilize data, automate internal business processes, and provides a competitive edge. 

Digital transformation business intelligence

When looking at digital transformation companies, many times we are talking about major enterprises with thousands of employees spread across the globe. 

Company's that make use of business intelligence and aim to be data-driven organizations – will most likely focus on one key aspect.

Data.

Lots of it...and from a variety of sources.  

For example, when it comes to effectively managing large global organizations – in order to reduce employee turnover, improve internal operations, and enhance supply chain management – businesses need to anticipate demand in specific regions if they want to remain relevant.

Key points to consider in digital transformation business intelligence:

• Supply chain management 
• Internal data management
• Consumer price index and global price changes 

If you are still asking yourself – what is web scraping used for in a digital transformation strategy – the following will help provide more clarity.

Supply Chain Management

Hardware, laptops and work equipment must be taken into consideration, as many times these are provided by an internal supply chain management department and distributed to employees in multiple countries – each with their own unique pricing and regulations. 

One of the key advantages of web scraping in supply chain management is that it can help companies reduce costs and improve delivery times. 

By monitoring online prices and scraping data from websites, companies can get real-time pricing information and make informed decisions about where to source products. 

Consumer price index (CPI)

Web scraping can help companies keep track of consumer prices indices in order to better understand global market trends. 

Understanding how the consumer price index (CPI) and inflation rates impact business can completely change the way you view your business.  Budget considerations based on fluctuating foreign exchange rates are crucial companies that work with teams distributed across the globe. 

Each country has its own type of employee benefits, retirement and healthcare systems, which can affect the cost of hiring employees as well as a variation in salaries.

With a proper understanding of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation rates in different parts of the world, companies can ensure that their employees receive adequate salaries and benefits. 

Global pricing and exchange rates

Having updated and correct data related to local salary standards is critical when dealing with salaries or bonuses in foreign currency. This helps companies approach changes in exchange rates more efficiently. 

Taking all these factors into consideration – leveraging web scraping tools and data extraction software – helps companies make sure they're making the best decisions for their employees, and as a result, sustain a healthy (global) organization.

Summary

Why the sudden acceleration in demand for digital transformation?

As a response to COVID-19, consumers and businesses completely changed the way they behaved overnight.  A majority of organizations were forced to immediately realign their business models. Many launched digital initiatives with limited time, resources, and had unprepared infrastructures to deal with the effects of the pandemic. 

This sudden change made way for a new economy where a digital transformation strategy was necessary if organizations were to remain relevant – and is now at the center of operational efficiency. 

And how does web scraping work within the world of digital transformation?

Web scraping can be a powerful tool to help DX vendors, as well as organizations of almost any industry, improve their digital transformation strategy – through the use of web data. It enables businesses to have quick access to data and insights needed in order to make better decisions and remain competitive. 

Digital Transformation accelerated from being just a buzzword to business reality that has reshaped entire industries. It's an invaluable asset to any modern enterprise – and together with web scraping – organizations can leverage data extraction to their advantage.

The business value of adopting web scraping in a digital transformation strategy

1. Automate processes

Web scraping software automates repetitive tasks. This saves time, resources and improves efficiency.

Automate data extraction at scale and instantly access web data to get quality data back in a structured format.

2. Enhance customer experience, generate leads and boost sales

Improve your customer experience by providing real-time information and personalized content. Monitor behavior and preferences so you target your marketing efforts more efficiently.

Extracted data provides insight to improve your products, services, and marketing efforts. Understand what customers want and need, target new markets, and develop more effective sales strategies.

3. Improve decision making

Gather data from multiple sources for more informed decision making. You can use web scraping to monitor trends, track competitors, and identify new business opportunities. 

Web scraping and data extraction give your business a competitive edge, and enables you to stand out from the competition. 

With over 12 years of experience in data extraction projects we know what data suits your business needs. 

Zyte delivers with speed, accuracy, and reliability, no matter what format you need it in. 

Talk to our experts today to see how web data scraping can help with your digital transformation strategy.