DX: transformation or friction?

Mark Wilkinson at OpenText asks whether digital transformation is worth the investment

 

In a world driven by digital innovation, executives are encouraged to choose technology solutions capable of transforming their company’s output. Practically, however, this process can leave employees exhausted by continued change, and limit the positive results expected from innovating processes. With so many technology solutions to choose from, when is it right to disrupt current workflows and invest in tech?  

 

From streamlining reporting to automating simple tasks, business leaders increasingly recognise the importance of technology in the future of work. However, in the excitement of a new solution, a key element can be forgotten: the users. Digital friction refers to the difficulty employees face when using technology adopted to enhance workflows. Paradoxically, it can lead to inefficiency, reducing instead of increasing output. 

 

A new study from Foundry and OpenText revealed that over 9 in 10 organisations are beginning to feel the pain of digital friction. So, how can executives amend their adoption style to ensure technological integration is a success?

 

Identifying pain points

The first step in solving any problem is through identifying and addressing specific pain points. On the surface, reduction in productivity following adoption of new technology can appear to be caused by a workforce reluctant to change. However, this places too much blame on workers, failing to reflect the several fundamental issues that must be addressed prior to technology adoption. 

 

Data drives successful innovation, playing a fundamental role in ensuring technological success. Of those surveyed by OpenText and Foundry, almost half considered poor data quality a cause for digital friction in their organisation, while around 1 in 5 blamed a lack of historical or contextual customer data. Without the strong data layer needed to empower new solutions, processes can produce unreliable results or fail to comply with expectations.

 

While technology has the potential to improve business processes in the long-term, producing significant return on investment (ROI), it will be unable to do so without the right foundation. 

 

Another significant pain-point for users is the struggle to access vital information when it is needed. The majority of survey respondents recognised technology related challenges as a factor in suffering delays or missing deadlines. Whether caused by siloed applications, for example, when solutions fail to integrate with a company’s current hardware, or confusing interfaces, it has had a direct effect on business operations.

 

This decreased efficiency after technology adoption has led to a more general belief that digital transformation can be uncertain. However, these should serve as examples to guide those adopting solutions, instead of repelling them entirely. 

 

Business impact

The outcomes outlined above, resulting from a failure to adequately adopt and integrate new technology, have a direct impact on those working with it. Almost half of the companies experiencing digital friction saw decreased employee satisfaction and enthusiasm. With stakeholders focused on the bigger picture, it can be easy to miss the true impact of reduced morale, as unhappy employees look elsewhere, and talent is lost to a competitive job market.

 

As the technology skills gap continues to make headlines, with a new study revealing that over 4 out of 5 UK businesses believing they have been negatively affected, failure to attract and retain talent will reflect poorly on business leaders. 

 

The corporations surveyed by OpenText Foundry showed significant concern about increased security risk because of digital friction, reported by almost half of those surveyed. This year, IT outages and data breaches have been a frequent topic in global news, with a variety of organisations, from banks to health services, discovering flaws in their security setup.

 

In this landscape, the potential for security weakness following digital transformation is an understandable area of executive concern. In practice, this often results from data silos, as companies find it difficult to make sure that only the correct parties access content, while enabling every employee access to necessary information. 

 

Is it worth it?

If digital transformation threatens productivity, job satisfaction, and security, is it worth undertaking? If done in the right way it can have profound effects on a business in the long term, helping them to place themselves ahead of their competitors and in front of their customers. However, a strong data foundation is crucial, as is choosing the correct solution. 

 

A downfall for many solutions is their inability to embed data into business processes. If given as an option, this capability can ensure that employees do not need to adapt to using multiple applications but can instead resort to one platform for information. The more collaboration-focused and user-friendly, the easier it will be to integrate new solutions with current applications. 

 

The right solution will not be complex. If the objective behind adopting technology into organisations is to improve productivity and output, executives should be reluctant to invest in solutions without detailed knowledge of their adaptability.

 

Instead, they should focus on building a strong data foundation, avoiding silos, and adopting technology that is not only easy to use, but integrates with the range of tools already being used by employees.  

 

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Mark Wilkinson is OpenText’s Senior Vice President for their Global Business Network

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and MTStock Studio