CONTRIBUTOR
Associate Director of Product Marketing,
Kissflow

Worldwide, businesses are investing in innovative digital technologies to boost productivity and stay ahead of the curve in their industry. However, despite all efforts and investment, not every organization will be able to keep up with digital transformation trends.

Several factors can hinder this drive. Perhaps the most notable of them is the presence of obsolete processes and outdated technologies that are simply not scalable enough.

In most cases, companies will have to carry out a complete overhaul of their existing IT infrastructure and optimize disjointed processes to achieve their digital transformation goals. How exactly do outdated methods hinder digital transformation, and what can organizations do to eliminate these encumbrances?

The Problem Of Legacy Infrastructure And Outdated Processes

If you’re struggling to implement an efficient digital transformation strategy due to outdated processes, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey by Gartner, up to 79% of organizations admit that outdated processes have hindered their efforts to implement digital transformation. The problem is mainly attributed to a clash of digital transformation efforts. Trying to implement new technologies in such environments can prove very difficult

Businesses across the world cannot continue to follow traditional processes. Traditional approaches typically lock data in silos, and they do not favor team collaborations. They are also heavily dependent on manual processes and stringent work policies. A modern, forward-looking workplace cannot continue to operate this way.

To achieve digital transformation, companies have to rethink their processes and optimize them through automation. However, IT infrastructure plays an essential role in all of this. For many companies, the IT infrastructure on which the various teams and departments across the organization run are set up right from the onset. Consequently, any digital transformation efforts aimed at achieving modern workplace automation will require a significant upgrade in existing technologies.

Legacy systems that were established several years ago can’t keep up with the active, mobile, social and analytics needs of the modern business place. Thus, the first and most crucial step is to invest in upgraded infrastructure and implement process changes.

Solving The Problem Of Outdated Processes

Despite all the benefits it promises, digital transformation is not easy to implement. Several layers of technology and adjustments have to be made in order to achieve transformation goals in every organization. Here are a few tips that can help upgrade outdated processes:

●      Upskilling People

Many business managers look forward to a time when they’ll be able to leave everything in the hands of artificial intelligence. But if you want to achieve digital transformation for your organization, you’ll need people equipped to use the right tools.

New technology in the hands of untrained people may not achieve many changes. Since you don’t get free trials with people like you can with digital tools, you’ll need to work with what you’ve got, and get people with the right skills on your team. When you have people with the right skills on your team, it’ll make the process of implementing your digital initiatives progress smoother and faster.

●      Cloud Optimization

Most organizations cannot afford the IT infrastructure upgrade they’ll need in order to complete the level of digital transformation they need. The simplest solution is to favor cloud migration for existing processes, as this is less expensive and more scalable for the future.

●       Invest in automation solutions

Workflow automation solutions help improve productivity and enable businesses to run more effectively. Not focusing enough effort on automation can slow down your efforts. One effective approach is to invest in citizen development.

Citizen developers are non-IT employees in your organization that can implement automation solutions to streamline manual processes. Citizen developers are valuable because they already understand your business objectives and are familiar with the problems you want to solve with automation. With their help, you’ll be able to get old processes out of the way faster and move your digital transformation efforts forward more rapidly.

Conclusion

Digital Transformation is at the front burner of conversation in every forward-thinking organization. However, it is not a simple concept to implement and involves several layers of technology. Outdated processes and legacy infrastructure can slow down adoption. To adapt fast and keep up, companies have to look at effective strategies that eliminate obsolete processes in favor of newer and more effective ones. This will be necessary to achieve your digital transformation goals and reinvent your business model.