Digitalization is about using technology to renew, simplify and improve. It is about providing new and better services, which are simple and efficient to use.
Essentially, digitalization is a collective term for the transition from analog, mechanical and paper-based solutions, processes, and systems, to electronic and digital solutions. The term ‘digitalization’ therefore also encompasses the establishment of new IT systems which maintain procedures that are carried out manually, although some of the biggest savings from digitalization often come when procedures are not only digitalized but also automated. The term, as it is used today, also covers the upgrading of old and outdated solutions, even though old IT systems are strictly already digital.
Most people make a distinction between digitalization and digital transformation. While digitalization is continuously improving the processes that are already in use, digital transformation is more profound and combines technologies in new ways in order to transform legacy services and products.