Executive Insights

Insight

The Machines Are Laughing

In many organizations, you do not need to look very far to find people performing activities that could be done by a machine. If the machines aren’t laughing, they are at least taking it easy. From the beginning of time, people have invented machines to make life easier. Today’s modern machines, computers, excel at doing repetitive, predictable tasks and in solving complex problems. With the increased capacity in computers – more powerful processors, larger amounts of memory – and the development of more sophisticated software solutions, the machines that once performed mathematical equations can now oversee and execute business processes and take on rote tasks through Robotic Process Automation (RPA). The beginning of any digital transformation is an understanding of what activities are performed within the organization and what can be handed over to the machines.

Insight

Technology ≠ Digital transformation

Too often companies think digital transformation is about technology and end up hammering nails with a shiny new screwdriver. True transformation occurs when you realign people, process and technology in a manner that optimizes the interactions between the three. You derive the greatest value from redefining how people perform their work, eliminating unnecessary activities, automating as much as possible, surfacing information to facilitate decision making, and providing user-friendly tools. Technology is an enabler, not the end game.

Insight

Articulating Business Value

Every undertaking, including digital transformation, must demonstrate value to the business. Any transformation effort should not be started until the value can be understood by the leaders of the organization, as well as by those who will be called upon to deliver. Setting the business objectives from the outset is important. It is less important what the objectives are – cost reductions, revenue growth, the ability to launch a new business line/ product, stabilization – than the fact they exist and are clearly understood. Along with the definition of the target, it is imperative to define how success will be measured. This way you can hold people accountable for the results.

Insight

Do Not Pave the Cowpaths

While they successfully get from point A to B, cows are not known for doing so efficiently. Similarly, it is easy to look at your organization’s current processes and activities and deem them a success because things get done. The start of a digital transformation provides a unique opportunity to reassess how your company does things and to identify those areas in which business practices and the associated culture need to change. At its core, a digital transformation is about doing things in a new way to ensure the success of the organization going forward. To skip or discard the cultural aspects of the change will set the organization up for failure. True change comes by motivating and providing proper incentives for people to define new, more effective ways, of getting things done. This is not achieved by simple automation of past practices, but by the walking of new paths.

Insight

Not All Companies Are Software Companies

Nowadays, it is common to hear a statement along the lines of, “To succeed and thrive all companies need to be software companies.” This sentiment grows from observing the market disruptions brought on by successful software companies such as Amazon, Netflix, Uber, etc. While it is an overstatement, there is merit in the thought. At the heart of the digital revolution and a key to its success is your willingness to look past the physical nature of your company’s operations, imagine what you can do ‘virtually,’ and to build new processes, solutions, and products based on this perspective.

Insight

The Human Factor

While a goal of the digital revolution is to get machines (computers) to do as much as possible, it is also about making work as easy as possible for people. It is imperative not to lose sight of the human factor. Within every business process, there is a point in time where a person must act for things to progress properly. The best designed digital process considers this from the onset. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to interact with the process. This is achieved through user-centric design, wrapping boxed software (where necessary), and the analysis and presentation of relevant information at the right time. You achieve success when your new process is more efficient, effective, and accurate and the human steps are simpler, less error-prone and of greater value.