2017 saw more and more businesses realising they are one step (or more) behind, and deciding to undertake new Digital Transformation (DX) Projects – a trend which is only most certainly going to grow throughout 2018.
Today, a majority of knowledge workers believe they are only as productive as they were three years ago, mainly because they haven’t had the most up-to-date tools or solutions needed. When we think how quickly the digital revolution is pumping out wave after wave of updated products, that’s a long time!
A few items that should be high on your Digital Transformation agenda:
The move towards fully integrating Collaboration tools into the workforce
2018 brings us closer to a time where working from home will just be work, conference/meeting rooms will become the living rooms of the office, and shared communication/instant messaging platforms will be the go to for staff, instead of email or phones to talk within the building. These methods of communication, be it Cisco Spark, Skype for Business, WebEx, or any of the numerous other platforms.
These platforms make teamwork easier, communicating quicker and, well, collaborating much more straightforward (the clue’s in the name!). However, one oversight many businesses make when implementing collaboration tools is measuring their success. Measuring their uptake means you can spot potential roadblocks to your new digital business transformation – whether that’s staff knowledge gaps, certain departments pushing back, or some areas of the organisation not needing the tools at all.
When most collaboration platforms charge you per user licence and only hold/store a few months’ worth of historic data, having a tool in place to give you data, analytics and reports will enable and aid in a transformation rollout. It also means you can carry out the new changes in the most cost-effective manner, having visibility of where the ROI is held and where you can cut extra costs – particularly if you use a tool that can report on and analyse your overall Unified Communications channels, as well as the disruption to Office 365 email usage too.
Better utilisation of valuable business data
In 2018 we’ll see businesses making more of their data, exploring its business value, and making it available to those internally who need it – and when they need it. A holistic view of the business, with data at the centre of that. With SaaS, cloud storage and data analytics platforms/software, cost and storage are no longer a large concern for IT departments, and the focus has become the value of the data instead. These systems can also deliver data more quickly and in a user-friendly format – meaning businesses can work faster and smarter.
As businesses keep up with the times, and undertake Digital Transformation Projects, they realise the role of data is becoming more vital in achieving success, both in the long-term as well as the short-term. The predominant focus will become analysing the data in ways that are most valuable to a business, and this will be where successful businesses will evolve. The analytics and reporting tools will play a big part in this field, and choosing the right one(s) will be key.
Exploiting SaaS and Managed Service solutions
Businesses will realise that where they lack the time, skills and resources in-house for certain processes, they will benefit from using SaaS and Managed Services. This also gives them the opportunity to benefit from the industry’s constant evolution – allowing them to stay current in a digital world without forking out the cashflow to get there. Using SaaS or a Managed Service will allow businesses more time, energy and resource to direct where its more needed.
Guest blog by Teila Hurlock, Business Intelligence, Tiger Communications
