We are here to support you through this new digital age.
We bring ideas, strategy and a wealth of experience to every IT project we work on, helping you prepare your Digital Transformation strategy.
Our clients choose us because of the value we provide every step of the way. We treat your business like it’s our own and we want to produce the very best results for you.
Our professional team of technical experts will guide you through the process: from scoping your requirements, navigation of the design process, risk analysis, Integration and deployment, soft landing and support. The process we follow is outlined in the four defined stages illustrated below.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technologies, including software and hardware, throughout a business to increase its efficiency, competitiveness and to provide more value for its customers.
With digital transformation reshaping our world, companies that fail to adapt will face a battle to survive. But rather than being a scary thought, the benefits of digitalisation include the huge swath of possibilities and efficiencies to catapult your business to success.
Achieving Digital Transformation
Broadly speaking there are three different strategic approaches to pursuing digital transformation.
1. Business Model Innovation: Finding innovative new ways to use technology to drive new sources of value and adapting business models to operate as effectively as possible with digital technology
2. Enterprise Architect Innovation: Designing intelligent information architecture that supports digitalisation while serving the changing needs of the business and the owner.
3. Enterprise Process Improvement: Integrating and aligning all internal processes with high-level business goals relating to technological advancement. Businesses should structure processes in a way that compliments their software setup and broader strategy.
Four Step Digital Transformation Roadmap
Defining a roadmap for your digital transformation will help you increase the likelihood of program success. It will also ensure the strategy you develop meets the changing requirements of your company for many years after completion.
Outline Your Goals What are your core business objectives over the next two-five years and how do you expect digital transformation to help you achieve them?
You may be targeting customer experience as a main priority or perhaps you are trying to maximise working efficiency or streamline remote working/management.
Budget analysis at this early stage will directly impact the mix of technology you’ll be able to integrate.
Discovery What systems do you currently have in place which are causing sticking points and inefficiencies or bottlenecks in productivity?
Analysing processes and workflows at this stage is key to the next steps in your digital transformation journey.
Highlight and Develop Time to identify your priorities.
More often than not the bulk of the development will happen behind the scenes, robust, high-speed infrastructure and connectivity, especially if your company has a topheavy online presence. Robust connectivity is key to successful online businesses.
Budget analysis is also important at this stage, funding for what you can afford to do when needs to be considered when planning project timelines.
Implementation and Training Once you know your budget, have identified your areas for improvement, highlighted your priorities it’s time to start implementation.
The replacement of legacy systems will take the form of a phased approach for all businesses to minimise downtime and stay operational during this critical stage of the digital transformation journey.
Digital Transformation encompasses a wide variety of technologies, strategies and processes. Three key concepts underpin this.
Legacy System Replacement
Strategy Shift
Automation
Legacy System Replacement Replacing legacy software and hardware systems can be a highly time-consuming and costly process. This is largely dependent on the size of your business, and how entrenched these systems are. Some systems may be superficial and operate largely independent of critical infrastructure or interact with any outside systems. Others maybe responsible for key product functionality, which inevitably makes them much harder to replace. Bigger companies, with older, bespoke systems often struggle the most when it comes to replacing legacy systems. However, this process can be carried out incrementally to reduce pressure on your business.
Despite the challenges associated with upgrading legacy systems, the benefits are significant. Legacy systems can be expensive, with higher operating and maintenance costs. Additionally, they have significantly poorer bottom-line functionality and flexibility than modern counterparts. Businesses should weigh up the costs and benefits of existing systems and potential new systems when considering their own digital transformation.
The three factors you should assess are:
Costs
Capabilities
Future compatibility
This analysis should consider costs, capabilities, and an assessment of future compatibility across a 10-year period for current systems and replacements. Any investment you do commit must keep pace with industry standards and be viable for upgrades as your business model and transformation strategy matures. In the vast majority of cases, upgrading existing systems will return a significant net positive gain in comparison to maintaining the status quo.
Strategy Shift To accommodate new digital technologies, it’s essential to update and adapt business strategies too. Conventional wisdom about the best ways to build strategies around modern digital systems is accumulating. But the sheer number of software combinations and different business models out there mean that no two businesses will have the same requirements. As a result, successful digital transformation strategy relies a lot on a business’s ability to incrementally improve strategy based upon current performance.
Automation Digital transformation also allows businesses to achieve various levels of automation. 1 in 10 marketers spend over 80% of their time managing, analysing, and presenting data.
Modern software allows businesses to automate internal processes like logistics, marketing sequences and financial forecasting. Automation isn’t just for the Manufacturing market, you may not be aware, but automation is being adopted by companies small and large all over the globe, streamlining those mundane tasks, analysing, and simplifying the harvesting of data. For a lot of businesses, the data they hold is more valuable than the business itself! Using this data to maximise sales and advertising is the key to a successful business in this new digital age.
Research by Snaplogic directly linked automation to a 5-7% increase in business revenue — the equivalent of adding $195 billion per month in enhanced productivity in the US.
Going forward, a key area of promise for automation is AI, which uses neural networks, machine learning and other technology to perform tasks that are usually carried out by humans. Nowadays, AI is commonly used in targeted advertising, chatbots, to give customers life-like customer service interactions and save businesses money. It’s also used to build complex models of user behaviour to improve customer experience and recommendations. Considering how automation fits into your tech stack is a key factor driving digital transformation.
If you’d like to talk to us about Digital Transformation for your business, get in touch at sales@microcomms.co.uk or call us on 03300 020 000
Microcomms Success Stories
“It was great to have you and your team on site to install the equipment. You did a great job, both in making everything work, but also in handling a very difficult situation with sense of urgency and reassurance. I am impressed.
Your effort is highly appreciated.
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, Reckitt Vienna
“Microcomms provide us with fantastic on-site and remote support. Nothing is ever too much trouble and all issues are dealt with quickly and efficiently. They have provided strategic insight into improving our infrastructure as well as maintaining our provision on a daily basis, always ensuring education and pupil's best interests are at the forefront of all actions.”.
Adam Anderson Head Teacher, Ludgvan Primary School
“Microcomms epitomizes partnership, collaboration, clarity and support. During our most recent project there were a number of challenges that we needed to overcome in order to deliver our project on time and within budget. Microcomms went above and beyond, expanded their remit and reach for their role of Project Support and Management to assist in finding the best possible solutions and possibilities to ensure our project was delivered. The service and offering was nothing shor”.
Aki Kardamilakis Head of IT and D, Reckitt South Africa
“Aaron and his associates were wonderful to work with during all phases of opening up our new office! They were informative and took the time to explain how some of the new technology worked (in “layman’s terms”) with patience and hands on demonstrations. The team followed up with notes afterwards and was very thorough and never failed to address any questions or issues we had even after they departed. Super personable as well, they felt like family before they left! Enjoyed working with them! ”.
Jodi Lightner Office Coordinator, Reckitt Rogers, AR
“We continue to be impressed by Microcomms’ know how, expertise and professional yet down to earth and pragmatic style. Consultancy projects are well managed and I’d recommend their services to anyone.”.
Julian Holmes IT Manager, Coodes Solicitors
“In our sporting hospitality business, customers expect great WiFi as well as fantastic golf. Microcomms have helped us meet our clients high expectations and ensure that visitors coming to Trevose have an all-round excellent experience. The team have worked really hard across all areas and we’re very happy with the service we’ve had.”.
Nick Gammon Managing Director, Trevose Golf & Country Club
“There aren’t many Cornwall-based companies that can claim to have hands on experienced providing network connectivity to a Malaysian hut in the middle of a rainforest!”.
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