Seven Top Reasons to Digitize Workflow, BPM and Document Management

The mass digitization of operational processes has had a profound impact on the private and public sectors throughout the past decade and a half, completely transforming the ways in which organizations function and perform in the process. At the same time, many businesses have been slow to the punch with respect to modernizing their strategies, IT departments and more, putting them at a distinct competitive disadvantage when compared to early adopters.

Automation, management software and digital workflows have been found to dramatically reduce the number of errors in accounting, drive the productivity of employees and improve the overall performance of companies within a relatively short period of time following implementation. What’s more, an increasing range of prominent and valuable trends rely on an entirely modernized IT department and operational strategy to function properly, many of which are critical to success today.

Business leaders will sometimes believe that these solutions are simply too expensive, complex or otherwise impossible to approach given their own or their staff’s lack of experience with the technology. Although this might have been the case a couple of decades ago, transaction automation, business process management and workflow software are all commoditized at this stage, meaning they are available to virtually any type of organization, regardless of size, stature or otherwise.

To make it clear why digital BPM, workflow and document management are so necessary today, here are seven top reasons to adopt:

1. The modern workforce

Today’s workforce thrives on flexibility and the availability of mission-critical apps, on demand and from any location. As of 2015, Marketing Land estimated that 80 percent of American mobile users had a smartphone, which has become the ultimate tool for modern businesses.

Should document management strategies do not become digital, or if workflows and BPM are still rooted in antiquated technologies, the workforce will simply not be engaged, empowered or enabled to produce at an optimal level.

2. Speed and agility

Since the early 2000s, when digital technologies began making substantial waves in the private and public sectors, the two keys to success and sustainability in business have been speed and agility. Forbes reported back in 2012 that all signs pointed to these attributes as being the foundation of the most competitive firms in the nation. Citing a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the source pointed out that agile companies are far better at increasing revenues quickly than inflexible ones.

Digital BPM, workflow and document management are the best ways to bolster the speed and agility of a business, setting it up to enjoy consistently optimal performances operationally and financially over time, despite external factors.

3. Intelligence

Looking more specifically at the document management end of things, it should be clear that digitization is critical to take advantage of the highly advanced and now more affordable analytics technologies available today. Last year, Computerworld reported on research from IDG Enterprise that revealed 53 percent of companies were either already using big data or intending to do so within 12 months.

Advanced analytics can drastically improve decision making and bolster waste reduction efforts across any business, but will only be palpable when the adopter has modernized its document management systems and migrated into digital environments.

4. The IoT

One of the most widely discussed and exciting trends to have surfaced in recent memory, the Internet of Things is poised to transform the ways in which businesses function in the near future. International Data Corporation forecast spending on these technologies to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.9 percent between 2014 and the end of the decade, at which point annual expenditures will rise to $1.7 trillion globally.

A lack of enhanced digital BPM and modern workflows, not to mention advanced document management capabilities, will hinder a company’s efforts to embrace the IoT and capitalize upon it. The time is now to begin preparing for this trend, and it begins with digital transformation.

5. Security

Data breaches have plagued the private and public sectors at an intensifying level for years now, leading to massive increases in identity theft throughout the United States and abroad. The Identity Theft Resource Center counted a total of 781 breaches in 2015, leading to the exposure of more than 169 sensitive records. At the same time, experts and analysts have argued that advanced document management technologies, including the cloud, can be safer.

More responsible and up-to-date document management strategies can indeed have a profoundly positive impact on an organization’s defense against data breaches and other crimes that lead to fraud and financial loss. This is especially true when companies choose to use the solutions of reliable, experienced managed service providers.

6. CRM

Customer relationship management has always been a critical aspect of business strategy, and the tools available today to help drive the efficiency and effectiveness of these processes are far more advanced than those of the past. Business Bee asserted that strong CRM software and strategies will bolster a company’s ability to handle compliance, monitor financial performances, tweak strategies and optimize customer experiences.

Again, though, should a firm try to deploy a modern CRM solution without an entirely updated approach to BPM, workflow and document management, the chances of that technology functioning optimally will be inherently lower.

7. Globalization

The globalization of economies, coupled with the booming electronic commerce market, has presented organizations with immense opportunities to break into new regions and drive revenues accordingly. Even the smallest, youngest businesses can now compete on the global stage, and failing to even consider the merits of doing so will represent the first step in the wrong direction with respect to cultivating the strongest possible profit margins each year.

To operate globally, though, organizations need to be running optimally and leveraging advanced technologies to keep every employee on the same page, regardless of where they might be working. Digitized document management, workflows and BPM can propel efforts to compete on the global stage.