This year looks set to see broad business digitisation, partly as a result of years of investigation and validation of digital business systems, says information technology company Strato IT MD Cassie Lessing.

This digitisation of business processes will continue despite anaemic economic growth, as companies aim to defend their businesses and remain competitive through the deployment and use of such processes.

“Not digitising holds the risk that companies might suffer steady attrition of their market share. However, the digitisation of companies is not driven by fear, but by a better understanding of how businesses would operate in digital environments and the potential benefits of digital business systems,” he explains.

Companies that are hesitant to digitise their systems and processes should actively explore digitisation by identifying specific problems or challenges in the business and then use digital systems to try to ease these problems, he advises.

Further, the deployment of these systems rarely creates architectural barriers, as they can generally be easily integrated into networks and resource planning systems, as well as other systems introduced after the exploratory digitisation projects.

“There are many obvious challenges and bottlenecks in businesses that can be reduced through the use of digital systems, and these provide an entrance to digitisation. Specifically, companies can look for quick wins and immediate benefits that will add to the broader digitisation strategy,” he says.

Strato IT has seen a surge in interest from companies and expects that 2017 will be the first year of general transition to digital systems.

“We encourage companies to deploy limited-scope projects to refine their digitisation strategies, as practice is different,” says Lessing.

Conversely, the scope of problems, as a result of implementing digital systems, is typically much lower than anticipated and it is often the fear of the unknown, more than technical barriers, that delay digitisation efforts, he adds.

The pace of business is increasing and customers are becoming more demanding about the execution and status of their transactions. Customers expect their queries to be answered immediately and there is no room for delays. Digital systems can improve functions and workflow processes and automate many aspects of normal business transactions, which help to remove delays and costs.

These initial projects will deepen and broaden subsequent digitisation of business processes, as the potential and practical use of digital systems is fully appreciated and included in business development.

“There is a sense of urgency and momentum regarding the digitisation activities in companies. These are increasingly viewed as business development projects, and we expect to see further projects as benefits are realised and businesses become more adept at deploying these systems to address specific and strategic issues,” concludes Lessing.

Story highlights:

* Digitisation of business processes seen accelerating this year, following lengthy validation and exploration.
* Subsequent digitisation projects will be deeper and broader, as companies recognise the value and benefits of digital systems.