Digital transformation is still a major IT buzzword. Everyone’s trying to “achieve” it. But are they succeeding?
Not according to Forrester Research. In “The Sorry State of Digital Transformation,” Forrester found that “while 56% of firms are transforming, their level of investment and scope of transformation is still mostly small.” A further 22% are investigating or not pursuing digital transformation. Just 21% believe that their transformation is complete. So why aren’t companies fully realizing the benefits of process automation?
In a recent Nintex webinar, Rob Koplowitz, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, and Ryan Duguid, Chief Evangelist at Nintex, discussed why businesses need an end-to-end process discovery strategy to make the most of process automation.
The benefits of process automation
The way that organizations currently build software and even automate processes doesn’t lend itself to complete digital transformation. While their current strategy might address obvious pain points in existing workflows, it won’t go far enough – automating individual processes without considering how they interconnect with processes across the business will only create confusion and silos.
In this blog, we’ll outline how you can embrace process automation and begin your digital transformation.
The first step
Digital transformation is a phenomenon that organizations can be reluctant to adopt – after all, there’s no established methodology, so how could they guarantee success? Broadly speaking, an organization pursues digital transformation by embracing more streamlined and efficient digital processes.
Process automation is one of the most effective tools for innovating traditional processes. By automating repetitive and highly manual tasks, organizations are able to save considerable time that can be used in more valuable areas. This is the crux of digital transformation – utilizing powerful technology to dramatically increase productivity and efficiency.
So, with this in mind, where should an organization start when they’re beginning a digital transformation initiative?
The trick to making sure that a digital transformation initiative gets off to the right start is by embracing process mapping. When your overall business goal is to modernize your existing processes, you need to examine your current process inventory. Mapping your business processes will allow you to see every single process active within your existing workflows, helping you identify inefficiencies and address them.
Getting ready for the future
The current methods organizations are currently leveraging for automation aren’t effective enough. Automating individual processes can’t address the wide-scale modernization that organizations need.
The pace of digital transformation isn’t fast enough, and organizations must look to develop more robust strategies.
A complete system of process discovery and documentation is essential to properly reap the benefits of process automation. It’s only when organizations understand their process inventory that they can really begin to change it. To implement process automation as part of a digital transformation strategy, you need a far more holistic approach than organizations might expect.
It takes a village
For a digital transformation initiative to be successful, every worker must have the ability to effectively use their new business applications.
If you want to build products to help everyone, you need everyone building the products.Ryan Duguid, Nintex Chief Evangelist Tweet this
A properly structured rollout with appropriate training and governance will yield the best result. Let’s look at the ideal path that an organization should take to roll out process automation.
1. Process discovery and documentation
The first part of your digital transformation journey is identifying the problems in your organization. Once every process is mapped, it’s easier to identify areas where automation should be implemented initially for the best effect.
2. Initial implementation
As the solution is implemented, IT workers become proficient with and develop trust in it. During this stage, small, simple processes are automated to demonstrate the benefits. Gradual rollout is essential in order to not overwhelm current systems and to help employees buy into the technology.
3. Roll out
Once small processes have been successfully automated, larger processes can be targeted. In order to ensure that each line of business (LoB) has its processes automated in a way that benefits workers, appropriate training and experimental is given to LoB workers. This helps them to make meaningful changes to the processes they interact with every day.
4. Shepherds emerge
As the solution is integrated into daily processes, the early adopters, and citizen developers will become apparent. These are the people with the knowledge and skill to support and nurture others – they’re empowered and on a mission to help others.
5. The ‘virality coefficient’ kicks in
Everyone within the organization becomes aware that they’re capable of effecting change. Momentum continues building, and adoption is maximized.
6. Formal center of excellence
Best practices are established, and a leadership team agrees to oversee the continued management of process automation within the business.
Taking the first step with Nintex
Using the correct tools and a thorough strategy, digital transformation doesn’t have to be difficult. With the Nintex Platform, it’s easy to help workers embrace the benefits of automation across your business. Using a no-code, end-to-end solution that manages process mapping through to optimization, organizations can finally get on the road to digital transformation with Nintex.
