Tag: digital transformation consulting

In this era of Digital transformation, industries have enhanced their attempt to optimize business processes excelling through Microsoft Power Automate. Many companies are on a spree to trigger platforms like Microsoft Power Automate, Power BI, Power Apps, Power Virtual Bot, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and many more. Among which Power Automate is a tech-stack promising platform that boosts productivity and improves business process efficiency by saving time and cost. 

The main backbone of any organization is the business processing unit. With the help of business process automation (BPA), companies achieve at the time spent in manual processing, any human errors made, and inefficiency of systems. Statistical analysis proves that with the help of BPA the markets are ballooning at a rapid increase of 10% every year.  

What is Microsoft Power Automate? 

Microsoft Power Automate formerly known as Microsoft Power Flow is a cloud-based service also known as a low-code or no-code automation tool, built specifically for workflow and process automation. It includes powerful Robotic Process Automation (RPA), called UI Flows, that allows quick and easy automation instead of time-consuming manual processes. 

Companies leverage their platform by seamlessly using the Microsoft office 365 services 

Ways organizations can use Power Automate 

Benefits of Power Automate in improving Business Process Efficiency 

BPA can significantly alleviate many pain points that organizations are facing today. Implementing and installing the right flows can result in achieving key benefits like reduced workload, operational cost, and human errors while increasing compliance and reliability with optimized performance. 

1. BPA significantly balloons the productivity of the business process with varied types of workflow automation like Process flow, Desktop flow, Cloud flow according to their need. 

2. All the flows can be connected to the process across Microsoft applications like SharePoint, Business Central, Outlook, Facebook, Twitter, etc. These flows well align with the primary aim of Microsoft Teams where the tools make the process more efficient and easily accessible.  

3. Power Automate helps create calendars, manage tasks and time, directly from their emails or Teams chats. 

4. Process flows are data-centric with many sources applied for numerous purposes. As data collection is time-consuming and missed data may render errors the process automate helps recover this flaw whenever it is triggered. 

5. With Power Flow Automate templates, time can be saved by abrogating manual tasks increasing efficiency. While editing these templates or an original process flow, it creates dynamic content options, catches, and identifies errors with the flow checker, and points to the exact need for attention. 

Need of Power Automate in different industries 

Power Automate has a significant impact on almost every business sector where flows play a vital role. BPA brought revolutionary changes in many sectors like the Healthcare industry, Manufacturing industry, Retail industry, Finance industry, etc. Significantly digital transformation in industries has witnessed adoption to modern technologies including, cloud, AI, IoT, and RPA.  

Just like Inovar helped one of the giant US healthcare organizations to manage their COVID 19 registration through an online application. The applied analytics makes the process smooth with Bots and SharePoint, thereby helping staff to access and manage bulk patient information in just one click. 

Similarly, the Financial Services and Banking institutions have rapidly adopted business process management automation solutions. With Microsoft Power Automate, the Financial Service sectors can automate loan processing, account opening, customer data management, and details of staff. The manufacturing and retail industry also implements a similar process as the healthcare and finance sectors. 

As service consultants, we understand that the automation of industries varies, and every business has its own business goals and capabilities. Hence, keeping them in mind we build solutions that help improve businesses efficiency with Microsoft Power Platform. Discover more about Power Automate with Inovar. 

Robotic process automation or RPA has the power and capability to help organizations increase their output and accelerate their digital transformation agenda. The true benefit of RPA rests on the technology’s ability to increase efficiency while reducing costs. There is no surprise that RPA is gaining traction in the market by taking away repetitive manual tasks from the human workforce and freeing them to focus on more critical strategic functions.

6 steps to use RPA in an effective way

1. Identify the process

The first thing is to carry out a thorough assessment of all the operations, within and across various departments, so that you can determine which processes can prove to be good candidates for automation.

2. Manage expectations:

Implementation of RPA is all about managing the people and their expectations. Employees must be informed about the need for automation, its essentiality, and how it is likely to influence the return on investment (ROI). The most important areas in which you need to manage expectations are:

3. Choose the right tool

Another vital task is to have a crystal-clear set of objectives that your company aims towards. There you can follow two criteria. First, you can consider vendor-related criteria, such as their experience or their orientation to future-proof automation solutions.

Another way, you can try to match the RPA software features, like security and screen scraping capabilities, ease of implementation, the total cost of ownership, etc., to your company’s hierarchy of goals and needs.

4. Assessment of ROI

A fine-grained analysis is required for analysis of the feasibility required before successful RPA implementation. It is important for every organization to compare investment against return, and to decide based on this to what extent it is profitable to invest in RPA.

5. Involve your IT team

The members of your IT team can provide critical insight as you choose an RPA tool that meets your business objectives. Their expertise will also be valuable whenever unexpected issues or malfunctions occur. Training for other employees will be also easy with their support.

6. Measuring the performance

Finally, formulate key performance indicators (KPIs) based on which you can find out the success rate of your RPA implementation.

Inovar blends diligence with skill

Inovar delivers state-of-the-art smart solutions by blending diligence with skills. We adhere to the aforementioned steps and identify what processes/functions need to be automated.

Considering the massive importance and benefits of RPA solutions in reducing efforts, improving customer service, and increasing profits, proper implementation becomes pivotal to ensure that every step is duly scrutinized, vetted, and backed.

Jeanne W. Ross (MIT Sloan’s Center for Information Systems Research) says-

“Clearly, the thing that’s transforming is not the technology — the technology is transforming you.”

Staying relevant has never been difficult – difficult was, to be adapted to the rapid pace of innovation, drive by the number and variety of new technologies, and most importantly, step forward with the growing economic pressures after the global pandemic. From the “big bang” to the “e-commerce boom” we have surely come a long way. But now digital transformation is probably the real buzzword for e-commerce businesses and global industry leaders.

We could start this article with a definition of digital transformation and why it’s essential for running an e-commerce business in 2021, but that would be boring (as most people aware of digital transformation and its benefits) – so we won’t. Instead, we decide to focus on the two principal aspects—

  1. What are the driving forces behind the digital transformation in ecommerce?
  2. How will digital transformation drive the future of e-commerce?


Before we dive too deep into this topic, I think it’s valid that first answer the question:

How does COVID-19 affect e-commerce businesses? 

The standardized lockdown rules across the globe and the growing hesitation among consumers to go outside and shop for essential goods have tilted the nation towards e-commerce. Consumers have switched from shops, supermarkets, and shopping malls to online portals for the purchase of products, ranging from basic commodities to branded goods. Since the norm of social distancing has been initiated scope of online purchases and online businesses skyrocket. Many people have embraced the concept of online retail, and the surge in FTUs (First Time Users) on e-commerce sites is visible.

(Source: Statista.com)

As per the statista report, the market opportunities for online commerce in world are expected to touch $740 billion by 2023 from $468 billion in 2017. Based on the data available, the growth in the countries like Indian, Philippines, Malaysia are going to beat other established markets like US, Mexico, China by 2034.

On the downside of things, lack of productivity during the nationwide lockdown resulted in the loss of jobs, pay cuts, and finances. Shutting down shops and family-based businesses has made many people sway towards online retail to meet their financial requirements.

In that situation, digital transformation isn’t jargon extracted from a pretentious keynote speech, it becomes an essential part of staying in business. Now, B2B and B2C companies compete against their online rivals to take a slice of the e-commerce pie, and companies who don’t keep up quickly go bust. The above facts work as a catalyst behind the adoption of digital transformation strategies in e-commerce.

The driving force behind the digital transformation

1. Shoppers are looking for new products online

According to salesforce, 87% of shoppers look for product information and helpful reviews online — even if they plan to make their final purchases in a brick-and-mortar store. Consumers always expect to find up-to-date information and brand contact information quickly and easily.

2. Consumer expectations continue to rise

Modern consumers are now expecting to personalize experience across a range of channels. Have you heard of Omnichannel Marketing? People are enjoying apps and hope their shopping basket to travel from device to device. Hence, you need to cater to your customer base to grow your bottom line.

3. A robust online presence of brand to show value

The majority of growing brands now choose direct-to-consumer, rather than wholesale marketing strategies. The main point behind this: cut out the middleman and make more profit, and consumers get to communicate directly with brand manufacturers. Strong online presence and robust branding are the primary weapons to create a roadmap for success in that type of marketplace.

Now, you have enough reasons to implement digital transformations on the e-commerce platform. But reasons aren’t enough, you also need to know how to implement digital initiatives in your every business touchpoint. Below we describe in detail the digital trends, which will make your work much easier.

 How digital transformation will shape the future trends of e-commerce.

Digital transformation does not have an endpoint, so you won’t have a chance to sit back, dust off your hands, and say, “Right— that’s it.”

Keeping up a digital vision and mindset is the most vital aspect of your organization’s digital transformation. Hence, you should keep a track of your customer expectations to modify your tactics and meet the need of your customer demographic. Instead of worrying many entrepreneurs try to approach change management with a sense of adventure and opportunity so that they can invest in new business processes and reap significant rewards. Let’s look at the principal ways of digital transformation change in e-commerce in the coming future.

1. Technology in the frontline

Only the will to achieve digital transformation is not enough. E-commerce sectors need to acquire and successfully deploy the right technology if their efforts are not to be in vain. To achieve success, e-commerce industry should improvise their IT infrastructure and software — management and maintenance skills must also be in place. Skill shortage in the IT part means rather than looking inward, B2B companies are increasingly having to explore possibilities outside the enterprise for technology provision. This puts a greater emphasis on cloud-based infrastructure and solutions, managed services, and automation.

(Source: centerity.com)

Automation is not necessarily direct AI-related technology — is a necessary step in the development and delivery of digital transformation for e-commerce at this stage. Some widely using automation processes are natural language processing (NLP), and cognitive automation, robotic process automation in conjunction with AI, and others. Here I want to highlight the top five ways to leverage automation for e-commerce business—


2. Significance of big data and analytics in enhancing personalization

Big data is one of the substantial parts of e-commerce digital transformation. Giant retailers use this technology to provide consumers with highly personalize shopping experiences.

You know how they make this magic?

Online giants are using machine learning to modify site algorithms based on previous consumer activity because they recognize that familiarity boosts the bottom-line. May in the future, it will be easier for people to opt-out of personalization. But, for now, companies continue to push personalization on the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, like thermostats, doorbells, and artificial intelligence (AI) tech (think Amazon Alexa or Siri). With all these approaches, data is becoming a larger and larger component – and therefore a challenge – for many organizations.

(source: iot.electronicsforu.com)

Data analytics initiatives require a clear understanding of the objectives they’re put in place to achieve and the resources available to implement them. Stakeholder and user requirements may influence the selection of software and services. Hence, the business should choose their technology or solution partners with these considerations in mind.

3. Cloud to cater to the changing market demand

There is myriad of advantages e-commerce is drawing from cloud computing today. Most importantly, cloud in e-commerce enables the business to look big virtually and operate extensively. To make it clear, I want to highlight four crucial aspects:


4. Headless and API-driven strategy continued innovation

We have a ton of favorite sites, but do we have any idea how those sites work? We hope online at free time, fulfill our midnight cravings, and go back to work. Behind the scenes – our order preferences travel faster than the speed of sound through a headless commerce system and file neatly into its database.

Using API in E-commerce to collect product information

(Source: ecommerceinsiders.com)

In a nutshell, headless commerce decouples a company’s e-commerce platform from its frontend. When uncoupled, any data entered a website’s backend travel seamlessly to a range of frontends via application programming interfaces (APIs) — for example, progressive web apps (PWAs) and content management systems (CMSs). In order to leverage these techniques, companies add content to a compatible backend and couple on APIs – or customized frontend (like reaction button). Is it sounds too complex?

Check out few additional reasons behind use headless commerce:

Flexibility: Headless commerce is SEO friendly, and it is flexible and agile across a range of devices.

Personalization and customization: Businesses can control the consumer experience from start to finish by using a headless commerce tech stack, streaming data from one central database to a collection of APIs.

5. Content and digital web presence

Content and the creation of brand narratives can boost the processes of building a stronger digital presence while fostering brand recognition.

Content and storytelling can help reach customers and create more brand loyalty, as well as establish companies as thought leaders and experts in their field. Through a clear content program, a brand can drive product offerings with a briefing on necessary aspects and influence purchasing decisions of customers. This is an area where manufacturers and distributors need to incorporate a broader Customer Insight/experience strategy to maximize outcomes and increase revenue.

Digital web presence is often how customers experience the brand for the first time. This is also a route for improving customer experience and increase website conversion rate. According to a statistic, most consumers leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Digital UX and UI is playing an important role to help users navigate through the website, find their requirements, and develop a trustworthy connection with the brand. Many organizations are still developing and improving the functionality of their websites and eCommerce platforms, both on the user and internal sides. Websites can drive additional growth and revenue – but they can also play a role in capturing more data, sourcing out leads, and boosting customer engagement.

6. Digital transformation at an organization level 

Digital transformation is moving beyond eCommerce and marketing, to embrace the organization. It’s looking at what leadership is involved in decision making, undergoing internal process changes, and even creating new job responsibilities and titles.

New recruitment practices for digital transformation are seeking out software engineers, user experience experts, and data scientists to acquire the needed skill sets and embed the right innovation mindset across the board.

Apart from that increasing mobile shopping experience, the wide spreading of alternative payment methods, direct to consumer strategies are accelerating the digital revolution in the e-commerce industry. From understanding how buyers make decisions (and who those decision-makers are) to opportunities for more personalized content and messaging in all funnels, digital transformation technologies and data management help enable more effective e-commerce business techniques. Now, this is the time to align all business digital touchpoints with business goals, and digital strategy consulting companies are here to help you navigate through all these digital strategies. For more information and consultation feel free to reach to digital consulting service company Inovar Consulting.  

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how one operates and delivers value to customers. With all the service options a customer has nowadays, the relationship a service-provider has with its customers has never been more critical. Businesses must be agile and flexible to meet their evolving demands, and the onus is on these businesses to support those needs and streamline efficiency.

Additionally, a digital transformation strategy helps employees being more engaged. With updated systems, applications, and solutions, it’s easier to communicate with customers, partners, and co-workers, and it leads to better collaboration as well, helping them succeed in driving important business initiatives.

digital-transformation-market-share

There are many ways that a company can gain benefit by instituting a digital transformation plan, some of which are short-term wins, while others become more obvious down the line. Here are the 6 critical factors that lead to success in Digital Transformation.

  1. Setting a strategy that covers what, why, and how and defines specific business outcomes
  2. Winning leadership commitment from CEO through middle management
  3. Finding the most capable people to drive the program
  4. Developing an agile governance mindset that is flexible and adaptable.
  5. Establishing clear metrics for processes and outcomes
  6. Building modular tech and data platforms driven by business needs
digital-transformation-strategy

The key to addressing all six factors is planning, preparation, and execution of digital transformation strategy. Once the plan is fixed, then one can determine what it is that one wants to gain from upgrading the digital foothold. Digital Leaders have accomplished an earnings growth 1.8 times* higher than companies that resist Digital Transformation. Organizations that get these 6 elements right have an 80%* chance of success.

digital-transformation-improvements

Out of the six factors mentioned, two of them are the most critical:

Agility is the key – Organizations need to ensure that all operations adopt an agile approach to work. This means learning continuously, acting as one team, being outcome-oriented, and being committed to action. While making this shift, having an agile mindset is of utmost importance. This requires an authentic belief in the behavioural changes required, as well as supporting tools such as playbooks, processes, and support to work in a cross-functional, mission-oriented way.

Soft skills are as important as tech skills – Another key factor is spending enough time to get the right people in place and then supporting those people. Leaders need to find the best people with the highest potential to lead a successful transformation. A few things to assess when finding a transformation team are:

  1. Have you taken extra care to fill pivotal roles such as program manager?
  2. Are there enough digitally literate people to drive new thinking?
  3. Have you sourced team members tactically from business units so that they can become champions in critical areas?
  4. Do you have a detailed assessment of the skills required and gaps to be filled?
digital-transformation-kpis

In addition to tracking progress toward goals, company leaders should track the momentum of the project. Digital Transformation leaders should ask these questions to measure momentum:

These “threshold behaviours” are a good indicator of whether the work is headed in the right direction or stalled out. Success is measured by the percentage of targets met and value created, the percentage of goals met on time, success relative to other transformations, and success relative to management’s aspirations for sustainable change. 

InovarTech eliminates the complexity of end-to-end integration with a modern cloud integration platform that connects B2B Data flows, applications, and data across the entire ecosystem and drives complex digital transformation efforts.

References:

*6 ways to win at Digital Transformation from TechRepublic