You need a digital transformation strategy. The perfect time to start is now
As 2019 rushes towards a close, many of us in business take stock of the year and what we’ve achieved. For many, planning for 2020 is well underway (or at least it should be!).
If you are in the planning phase, you’re probably looking at the products or services you sell, the markets you service, and how you can deliver more. If you’re really focused, you’ll also be looking internally at your own business to consider where you can do better in terms of systems and processes.
Here’s where we see the biggest gap: We know we live in digital economy but, for some Australian businesses, there is still a reluctance to go digital. Whatever is driving that, whether it be fear of the unknown or a lack of ‘time’, in reality you’re falling behind. And I bet your competition isn’t.
So why should you be adding digital transformation to your planning process?
It’s the now, not the future
It’s something that I believe is often over looked when it comes to digitising the way you do business: It’s not the future. It’s the now.
Technology is driving so much change and at a pace that we’ve never seen before. Artificial Intelligence (AI) for example isn’t revolutionary, it’s the norm. I call it the new electricity: You need to embrace the benefits it brings your business now. Chances are you’re already interacting with chat bots and other AI platforms on a huge number of websites without even knowing.
Digital transformation doesn’t need to be chat bots and robotech. You can and should be looking at how technology can drive process change in your business. It’s those efficiencies that will give you a demonstrable return on investment in both time saved and accuracy increased, which all translates to a better outcome for your team and your clients.
It’s why you need to add a digital strategy to your planning. It’s not only the benefits I’ve mentioned above, there’s also a host of legislative changes already here and more to come that will all focus on how you manage your data, particularly customer data. If you’re not ready, it will not only impact your ability to do business but could also leave you exposed.
We already do it
Digital strategy is already core to our business. Yes, we deliver technology solutions to our clients in this space but I like the idea of ‘drinking our own champagne’. We’ve seen huge benefits in digitising our entire back office, ensuring that functions like accounts, contracts, ordering, etc are all running electronic workflows that enable our team to focus more on delivering for our clients, rather than being inundated with back office process. It also shows our clients the value of our technology in a real life environment.
It’s not too late to factor it into your 2020 plan
If you have already started (or even finished) your 2020 planning, it’s not too late to add evaluating your technology to the mix. Even if it’s just one function, say accounts payable, that you look at now and say “how could we be doing this better”, then you’re already putting yourself in a better position than you’re in today.
Transforming business is more than just a tagline for us, its core to what we do everyday. Keen to discuss how you’re dealing with digital transformation? Contact me here and we can arrange a time to discuss what’s happening in your business.