By Kevin Fredericks
Business transformation in South Africa is primarily defined by the transition from analogue to digital, from manual to automated, from traditional ways of working to those compatible with 4IR technologies and implementations. Transformation projects have accelerated over the past few years, and local organisations now recognise the need for agile and scalable IT infrastructure.
Effective business transformation involves a complete overhaul of companies’ existing processes and systems, as well as instilling a culture that improves efficiency, enhances customer satisfaction, and maintains a competitive edge in their respective industries.
Technology leads the way
Though digital transformation looks and feels different for each organisation, it all boils down to integrating digital technologies to advance operations and unlock new value. We see the impact of technology on business transformation practices across various industries. In finance, service providers are leveraging data analytics and digital platforms to offer personalised banking and insurance solutions. Telecoms are investing in cutting-edge technologies like 5G, IoT, and the cloud to enhance their service offerings.
The secret ingredient to this success is prioritising innovation, agility, and customer-centricity. By investing in technology, fostering a culture of always-on improvement, and staying up to date with market trends, businesses can create a more efficient, secure, and customer-facing organisation in whatever industry they operate in.
Leaving a legacy (system) behind
I maintain that the seven most dangerous words to a company that wants to transform are “We have always done it that way”. Personnel and departments that are accustomed to traditional workflows and working with legacy infrastructure, often find it difficult to adapt to new technologies and processes and, therefore, can be their own worst enemy.
The key to overcoming this is change management strategy. Leaders need to communicate the benefits of new systems, provide hands-on training opportunities, and consistently support their workforces throughout the transformation process. The goal is to remove resistance to change, and you accomplish that by proactively including people as part of that change.
The collision between the old and the new is also a major challenge. When integrating new systems with old ones, companies can avoid disrupting ongoing operations through network mapping and configuration migration solutions that minimise downtime. Transformation can never come at the cost of bringing the business to a complete halt.
How to build a digital and secure foundation
Companies with a sizeable IT footprint are both at an advantage and a disadvantage when it comes to any transformation agenda. While they may have the resources and budget to make that transformation happen, they also have the most to lose with failed or compromised implementations. Therefore, any approach should include incremental changes and improvements to the fundamentals of their IT operations.
One example is a helpdesk system that improves IT support and response times. This system automates ticketing and integrates with Edward Snell’s knowledge base, enabling our employees to find quick solutions to common issues and thus decreasing resolution time. Expanding outwards, we have implemented a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) to enhance our network performance and reliability (and remove single points of failure).
Of course, any digital transformation strategy is not complete without security considerations. Today’s secure organisation incorporates zero trust architecture – models that enforce security policies and verify every connection between users, devices, networks, and applications – and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions that consolidate network and security functions into a single, integrated cloud-based service.
And, to reiterate, none of this would be possible without people, which is why organisations need to foster a security-conscious culture across their structures. Even something as simple as training employees to spot phishing attempts contributes to organisational resilience.
That is the promise of the modern transformation strategy. It sets organisations up to explore the next generation of tools and take a more data-driven approach to their business. By embracing transformation today, we can embrace the innovation that follows tomorrow.
Kevin Fredericks is the head of Technology at Edward Snell
BUSINESS REPORT