Why Your Company Needs a Digital Transformation Engine

Face it, as a business leader you can’t go a day without someone espousing the virtues of digital transformation. And the funny thing is, you probably don’t know exactly what they’re suggesting you do, because the definition of “digital transformation” varies based on whether it’s from Wikipedia or Forrester or Gartner or KPMG or from the guy down the hall. I work in this space every day, and it’s difficult even for me to distill the ocean of promises and FUD into a reasonable common denominator.

Ultimately, when you get to the bottom of it, in 2018 every company is a digital company, and every company must assess and optimize their business models and end-to-end processes from the perspective of their customers. Failure to do so will result in some combination of the following – typically all four:

• Risk of disruption by legacy competitors and/or digital native upstarts
• Risk of non-compliance with emerging regulations like GDPR, which carry huge financial and reputational penalties
• Sub-optimal customer satisfaction at one of the myriad touchpoints where your internal processes intersect with your customer’s engagement
• Risk of waste in materials, time, dollars and the best use of employee’s focus

Your customers have embraced digital devices, social networks and a new buyer’s journey, and governments have mandated that the resulting mountains of data generated be treated very carefully.  Vendors promise to automate all of your business processes quickly and easily to increase throughput, and your peers in executive leadership are tasked with looking into the future to determine how to spend finite resources and return the greatest amount of profit.  Despite the limitless list of software and tools at your disposal, it’s not an easy time.

To survive and thrive today, businesses must have the ability to leverage all data from customers and internal processes and then prioritize the greatest risks and/or opportunities for execution.  Options must be assessed and simulated so the right projects are addressed at the right times, and automation must be employed where it makes the most sense. Be clear, digital transformation is much more than just the automation of menial or repetitive tasks so that employees are freed up to do more meaningful and valuable work. However, automation is a very important tool in the digital transformation toolbox.

Today’s enterprises need a platform that sits at the center of their operations, driving GRC systems, regulatory compliance initiatives, RPA tools and KPI management. They need to prove ROI before investments are made. And they need to engage every employee in the organization to collaborate on living business processes, ensuring that customers always come first, regardless of the channel they come through. This is what a digital transformation engine will do for your business. The results will not be quick hit, “one and done,” but will grow seamlessly with your enterprise to ensure a virtuous cycle of evolution.

iGrafx is a digital transformation engine that facilitates business performance in the context of traditional operational excellence, as well as in the emerging sense of optimized customer journeys, all while ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations. I’d be happy to discuss how we can help power your business