Digital experiences have transitioned from piecemeal tools for process management or data collection into a disintermediated, service-oriented component of nearly all business operations.

If digital transformation was a strategic business priority in the pre-2020 era, the pandemic propelled it to an existential imperative. Consumers witnessed the results of this enforced experiment in myriad ways. Their favorite clothing brand launched virtual try-on services. Their doctor became accessible via telehealth appointments. Even their local government—not an entity typically associated with expediency—released an app that gave citizens connected access to services in a fraction of the usual time.

Now, we’re teetering on the precipice of a post-pandemic business landscape—the next phase of what’s been dubbed “the new normal.” Employees and customers consider digital interactions like the ones outlined above a given, and many of the shifts set off by the pandemic seem poised to stick around for years or even decades to come.