Digital transformation is one of the most overused terms in the tech industry today. Just do a search for “digital transformation” on Google, you get over 419,000,000 results, many of them with varying definitions, scopes and opinions. The chatter that revolves around this terminology can be confusing, and so pervasive, it’s hard for IT and business leaders to come to a broad understanding of what it means.
Without a shared, true understanding, driving internal and external initiatives can be difficult at best. In fact, a McKinsey study found that 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail. But what is the problem? Is it the technology that is faulty? It is rarely the technology that fails the organization, but a lack of true understanding of what it means and a broad strategic plan for a “Digital Transformation Journey.”
So, just what is Digital Transformation? Here is one of the best definitions I have found from CIO Magazine:
“Digital Transformation is the application of digital capabilities to processes, products, and assets to improve efficiency, enhance customer value, manage risk, and uncover new monetization opportunities.”
Clean and simple. If you examine the 4 defined areas of focus, they could be natural header topics for strategic initiatives across an organization. Once these broad, overarching themes are in place, tacticians can hunt for areas where intelligent process automation can drive results.
Where does Smart Capture® fit into your digital transformation strategy?
Smart Capture technology is a critical and often overlooked component of any digital transformation initiative. Organizations run on documents, and document processes are a key challenge for all. Documents are also low hanging fruit, and their processes typically translate well to the digital. So, let’s see where the power of Smart Capture fits in our strategic transformation headers:
Improve Efficiency – This is the core advantage of implementing a Smart Capture solution to digitize document-centric processes. Having capture technology classify and separate documents, auto-extract key data and then place it in a system of record, creates great returns on any investment. Typically, we can reduce the time to process by 50-80% (read more in our case studies here: Ephesoft Document Automation Case Studies). These efficiencies can be gleaned through direct use of our application, but can also have a multiplier effect when combined with other technologies like RPA and workflow.
Enhance Customer Value – In this highly competitive digital market, creating customer-centered processes that are fast, accurate and complete is essential to any organization. Imagine if you could turnaround documents 50 times faster than your competition, or have the data you need from document instantly during a customer interaction. Smart Capture combined with the speed and scalability of the cloud can provide unmatched results that provide exceptional customer experiences.
Manage Risk – Documents are a minefield for most organizations. Their unstructured content can remain dark and hidden indefinitely without the right technology. Smart Capture can open up this content, and allow the organization to identify risks around private information, fraud, and many other areas of interest. Having the full picture from a data perspective can give an organization a 360-degree view of their risk factors.
Uncover New Monetization Ideas – Let’s face it, if you have all the data, that full picture can open your eyes to new opportunities, as well as poor performing areas. Tapping into all the information in unstructured content can provide deep insight and benchmarks that were previously unavailable. In addition, relieving your staff burdened with mundane data entry tasks, and allowing them to focus on new areas and on new projects can change your organization.
Interested in learning how Ephesoft can improve efficiency, speed up processes, help you manage risk and give you the data you need to run your business optimally? Want to multiply the effect of automation technologies like RPA and workflow with document intelligence? Contact us today for more information on your digital transformation strategy and next steps.
