It’s Due Time for Your Digital Transformation if You Haven’t Done It Yet

The modern economy is constantly speeding up and for businesses to keep up with this trend requires a digital transformation strategy. Companies rely on the data and information that flows through organization to execute tasks and ultimately ensure timely processing of all work activities. By adopting a digital-first solution, not only do processing efficiencies increase but companies can also leverage the data gathered into core business assets.

Technology permeates throughout the world, touching every aspect of modern life. Customers expect businesses to keep up with the latest conveniences while delivering the same quality of services they’ve come to expect over years of loyal patronage. Any company that doesn’t take this evolution into account can expect to see the number of loyal customers diminish over time. While customer loyalty and retention is a primary denominator for success, a proactive and positive approach to enhancing the experience and delivering value-added services will mean new customers also come flocking.

Digitizing the Whole Operation is a Large Undertaking

Even if a company has a legacy of success, it doesn’t mean they ought to rely on outdated infrastructure and manual information processing. Modernizing the operations of a company may seem daunting, but the truth remains that something as simple as a digital workflow can yield great returns on the investment. Staff may be used to doing things a certain way, but implementing a document management solution with precise information routing won’t cause too much disruption while speeding up the entire process.

What are Workflow Solutions?

A digital workflow is a predetermined process for the routing of information, gathering approvals or comments from the people involved, and finally closing out a task with all historical data recorded in a centralized location. Workflows have an initiator (usually captured in the form a request) and then proceeds through a series of defined steps until the task can be considered completed (such as shipping products). The technology isn’t new as it’s been in use by most large, multinational organizations ever since the introduction of computers into the modern workplace.

What has changed however is the sophistication of the solutions and the ability to integrate them with other established applications or devices in the modern office. In the past, companies had to overhaul almost everything in the organization, adopt an expensive software system, and pay dearly to adapt the solution according to their needs. Modern workflow engines require little expertise to configure, integrates with existing software applications, and generates metrics that assist companies with finding the bottlenecks in their processes.

What Steps is Your Company Taking to Modernize?

The best companies in the world often change the way they do things, as new information comes to light. This means access to the key metrics and indicators on how staff executes their daily tasks inform every change in the process or tools used for the benefit of the company’s future. Documents are information containers that provide context to data. If a company hasn’t adopted an electronic document management system, the overhead associated with physically processing information daily can be quite large.

The solutions a company should look for when building a future-ready office include:

• Electronic document management system or enterprise content management solutions.
• Process management tools that drive workflows throughout different departments.
• Hosted network and managed IT services that speed up the infrastructure upgrade schedules.
• Managed print services and device management solutions that extend the information security policy to every physical device located in the office.

A managed service provider that includes enhanced security, regular data backups, hosted software solutions, and advanced multifunction printers and copiers can provide all of these solutions. The biggest benefits of managed services are increased speed and accuracy of information processing while keeping a consistent budget, and reducing the total associated cost of the digital transformation initiative.

How Much Can You Save by Having Everything Digital and How Does Your Workflow Change?

Firstly, the workflow doesn’t necessarily change, as the information processing routes remain the same. The biggest saving comes from less time spent walking information from one department or resource to the next. As a step is completed, the workflow engine routes the data to the next person in the process who then acknowledges the responsibility now resides with them. It provides a detailed history and complete transparency throughout the organization, improving collaboration and reducing the risks of something falling through the gaps.

Modernize Your Office Technology with Virginia Business Systems

With the world currently more connected than ever before, many new opportunities await companies that proactively adapt their business’s agility and streamline the way they interact with customers and business affiliates. For more than six decades, Virginia Business Solutions has assisted organizations with expert advice and the latest office productivity solutions.

If your company is looking to modernize your operations, get in touch with one of Virginia Business System’s analysts and start the process today.