By Cantec Group
Digital transformation is not a project. It’s a process of continuous innovation, whereby businesses invest in improving people, products, and processes. The journey towards digital transformation for each organisation will be unique, but the advantages sought are very similar.
Process automation improves productivity, efficiency and integration whilst reducing costs and error rates. Of course, the digitalisation of services often removes physical assets, so it supports the adoption of remote working practices.
By digitalising processes you also gain access to a wealth of big data analytics that wouldn’t have been available previously. This allows organisations of all shapes and sizes to identify areas for further improvement or innovation, in what becomes a digital version of a virtuous circle.
For smaller businesses, going digital means they can compete head-to-head with much larger organisations and across much broader geographies. Digital businesses can reduce the impact of economies of scale typically enjoyed by larger enterprises and leverage enhanced agility as a competitive advantage.
Finally, embracing digital ways of working can significantly help businesses meet their ESG (environmental, social and governance) objectives or obligations. A strong ESG proposition can add value beyond digitalisation benefits: improving staff morale, enhancing your sustainability stance and boosting your ability to attract talent with greater social equity.
“For some years now Cantec has been offering solutions to our customers to assist in their digital transformation – our managed print services are built on a platform which encourages less printing and more scanning, helping our customers create digital workflows for the sharing of information rather than via printing documents which is less efficient. Our sister company SmartOffice offers a unique purchase to pay solution which completely automates the cumbersome and time-consuming accounts payable process from A to Z. The secret to cloud-based solutions is to keep it simple in terms of implementation and user experience – this is how digital transformation can truly benefit your business.”
Greg Tuohy, CEO, Cantec Group
What should you digitalise and when?
As Irish businesses move towards a hybrid IT environment, featuring cloud and on-premises technologies, they may face a skills gap. There is still a national shortage of talent skilled in application development and transformation.
This is why many businesses choose to partner with a third-party provider that specialises in digital transformation and outsource elements of their strategy. According to a 2022 survey by tech giant Hewlett Packard, almost one third of Irish enterprises use systems integrators or hosted service providers to manage their ICT infrastructure.
While some digital initiatives can be transformational company-wide, they don’t all require a sea-change within the business. In fact, the digitalisation of point solutions within the business can often be the most effective way to introduce process efficiencies, cost savings and productivity improvements.
Let’s briefly explore two digital initiatives, one that specifically impacts the finance department (invoice processing automation) and one that has a wider impact across the business (cloud-based printing).
AP Automation
Supplier invoice processing is typically a repetitive, manual process that is error-prone and time-consuming. The more complex your supply chain, the more invoices you are likely to process: receiving invoices, logging them, manually checking against purchase orders and goods received notices, forwarding for approvals, followed by settlement and statement reconciliation.
It’s a laborious process that, while essential to the business, may not be the most rewarding of tasks and leaves little time for other, value-adding activities. Automating the process significantly reduces time and resources. It provides improved visibility of end-to-end workflows, eliminates the risk of human error, and accelerates the approval process. It also empowers AP employees to add greater value to the business by analysing things like price changes over time and eliminating overpayments.
Cloud Printing
In a hybrid working environment our relationship with printing has changed. While the idea of a truly paperless office might still be a pipedream for most, it is true to say we are printing less than we were. Migrating print workflows and management to the cloud can impact not only the management and control of your print, but also efficiency, sustainability, and security.
Moving your print infrastructure to the cloud eliminates the need for on-premise servers (and licensing and maintenance costs). It allows users to remotely print or scan from mobile devices and provides a consistent user experience, whether printing remotely or locally. User authentication can be leveraged to ensure unauthorised users don’t have access to devices and local print release functionality can both reduce waste and enhance data protection.
What next?
Digital transformation encompasses so many elements of our day-to-day activities that its applications are virtually endless. If you are embarking on your own transformation journey, here are 5 tips to help you on your way:
- Understand your objectives and the business case for change.
- Start small, with an initiative that is impactful but not disruptive.
- Align your technology choice with your business objectives.
- Partner with a service provider that shares your long-term vision.
- Innovation is continuous, transformation is not one-time.
