In this article, we look at the crucial role of digital transformation of organisations and how, despite being on the agenda everywhere, it is difficult to get off the ground. Where is the problem and how can you as an organisation actually take steps in your digital transformation?
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No digital transformation is possible without a good information management foundation
Within many boardrooms, digital transformation is a key agenda item, while at the same time it remains a very abstract concept and is often pushed forward.
All market surveys show an unambiguous picture: almost every organisation has digital transformation on the agenda and is also convinced that it is crucial for the future of the organisation. However, the step from this irrefutable urgency to a concrete approach in practice proves less easy.
Explainer: what is a digital transformation?
There is talk of digital transformation when companies use powerful technology to run their business transform. It is a large-scale and organisation-wide step to consider how each part of the organisation can be digitised and optimised, as almost every part of an organisation today needs technology to run. This can be in any area - customer service, operations, human resources. In the past, digital transformation was seen as an IT initiative. But now that we live in a digital world, digital transformation has become synonymous with business transformation.
One thing is clear, if you want to transform digitally as an organisation, the infrastructure of how information is organised needs to be modern, digital and sustainable.
The explanation for this condition is clear: if an organisation does not have a solid foundation in terms of how it manages information, it cannot possibly digitise its adjacent processes and make them more efficient.
As an organisation, how do you ever apply BI and AI if it is not even possible to find documents and information quickly and easily?
As an organisation, how will you comply with laws & regulations and information governance if there is no unified structure the metadata of the information in the organisation?
Without a good information management foundation, this process becomes unnecessarily time-consuming with a high probability of failure of the digital transformation as a whole.
Step one for any organisation is to look at how you manage information inside and outside the organisation.
Without intelligent information management, you will never improve customer experience and satisfaction
Several market surveys show that many organisations, especially financial services companies, make it their priority to improve the customer journey in order to remain competitive. At the same time, many organisations face numerous obstacles to actually substantially improve this customer journey.
This challenge has many similarities with the digital transformation mentioned earlier.
And not surprisingly, research by AIIM showed that more than three quarters of organisations are unable to have consistent and unambiguous customer information available anywhere, anytime, when needed. The biggest bottleneck: information resides in various isolated systems and applications. Connecting and synchronising this information seems to be beyond organisations.
It is an obvious consequence of the way document-intensive organisations handle information. Better put, it lacks a helicopter view and a structural overarching strategy for information management of the organisation as a whole.
By taking a step back as an organisation and starting at the basics, the desired grip and control can be regained. An intelligent information strategy makes it possible to connect all the data, documents and information that is widespread in different applications, systems and storage locations.
A sustainable and fluid transition based on support from within
Plans to modernise an organisation's information strategy often meet internal resistance and objections. Streamlining processes, increasing labour productivity and eliminating time-consuming information searches actually pay off handsomely at the bottom line. However, creating internal support for this is a challenge and then it also apparently requires a high investment.
However, setting up intelligent information management in the organisation has a different picture. This approach consists of two phases: connect information and a organic adaptation.
The phase of connecting information is characterised by a grounded integration of information systems and applications while they individually retain their value in their use. By connecting this fragmented information, an intelligent information management approach creates significant ROI.
When information within the organisation is integrated with each other, it creates space to look at which systems and applications the organisation can shed. By connecting information, it is no longer a matter of abruptly pushing a new system or way of working into the organisation. Instead, it is an organic change that prevents costly migration processes, creates support and makes results quickly visible. This allows an organisation to smoothly adapt an intelligence information strategy, resulting in increased agility, better customer experience, increased productivity and cost reduction.
How nice is it if you can spar with no obligation about the first steps you can take as an organisation? Register for an online demonstration and discuss in detail what is needed for the right approach to digital transformation.