Key Takeaways:
- Being “Digital Now” starts with changing workplaces, learning environments, and online meetings. Easy connections, adaptable workspaces, and engaging learning tools encourage creativity and teamwork.
- Tailored digital transformation plans can support growth across industries. Companies in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology are using data and new technologies to improve customer experiences, streamline processes, and get better information.
- LBMC Technology Solutions takes a practical approach to digital transformation by helping companies connect systems, improve how technology is used, and find solutions that fit their business.
The Executive Business Leader’s Guide to Digital Now: A Journey of Digital Transformation
In today’s fast-paced business world, technology has gone from being nice to have to something most businesses depend on every day. As an executive business leader, you’re not just leading teams. You’re also making decisions about data, remote work, cybersecurity, financial systems, and the technology your people use to do their jobs.
Those decisions also call for strong IT leadership. Our Building Better IT Leaders article covers the planning, communication, security, and team skills behind successful technology initiatives.
At LBMC Technology Solutions, we understand how quickly those decisions can get complicated. We help business leaders figure out where technology can make a difference and what makes sense for their organization.
What Does It Mean to Be “Digital Now”?
“Digital Now” is our way of looking at how people, technology, and information work together. It’s not simply about moving more applications to the cloud. It’s about making sure the technology you already have is helping people do their jobs.
One of the next steps in a company’s digital transformation is often getting its systems to work together. Everything may be in the cloud, but that doesn’t mean information moves easily from one system to another.
Finance is a good example. Accounting, CRM, payroll, billing, and other systems may all hold information the business needs. Connecting those systems can cut down on manual work and make it easier for people to get to the numbers they use every day. That’s one reason ERP systems such as Sage Intacct can play an important role in digital transformation.
For more on connecting technology across the business, read Secure Digital Ops in Integrated Tech Ecosystem for Leaders.
So what now?
Start by looking at where the disconnects are. Are employees moving information between systems by hand? Are teams working from different versions of the same information? Are spreadsheets filling gaps between systems that don’t communicate with each other?
Those are the kinds of problems LBMC Technology Solutions helps companies work through.
Redefining Workspaces
Remote work is a significant change in how we work, not just a trend. Employees may be working from the office, at home, or somewhere in between. Wherever they are, they still need reliable access to the systems, files, and people they work with every day.
We help you work better by:
- Seamless Connectivity: Give employees access to cloud files, virtual meetings, and collaboration tools wherever they’re working.
- Comprehensive Business Solutions: Depending on what your business needs, that may include cloud accounting, ERP and financial management solutions, Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity, or Intelligent Automation.
- Secure Remote Access: Protect data and devices when employees are working outside the office, whether they’re using a home network or public Wi-Fi.
- Device Synchronization: Make it easier for employees to work across devices and still have access to the information they need.
The goal is pretty simple: employees should be able to get their work done without location or technology getting in the way. At the same time, the business needs to know its information and systems are protected.
Transforming Learning Environments
Learning doesn’t happen only in a classroom anymore. Employees may be attending training sessions, webinars, virtual conferences, or internal meetings from different locations.
Technology can make those experiences easier by giving employees access to the same information and tools wherever they happen to be.
Our solutions for learning environments include:
- Easy Access to Resources: Give employees access to training materials, reference documents, and other resources when they need them.
- Peer Collaboration: Make it easier for employees to communicate and share information with colleagues in other locations.
- Interactive Learning: Use technology that allows employees to participate rather than simply watch or listen.
For businesses with employees working across different offices or remotely, having a consistent way to share information and training can make a big difference.
Embracing Virtual Engagement
Virtual meetings and events have also become a regular part of doing business. Company-wide town halls, industry conferences, client meetings, and team activities no longer require everyone to be in the same room.
The technology behind those meetings matters. People need to be able to connect without spending the first 15 minutes figuring out why something isn’t working.
That can include:
- Virtual Events: Technology that supports online conferences, meetings, and other virtual events.
- Employee Engagement: Tools that give employees ways to connect and participate even when they aren’t in the same location.
Virtual engagement works best when the technology stays in the background and lets people focus on the conversation.
Industry-Specific Digital Transformation Strategies
Digital transformation looks different depending on the industry. The technology a manufacturer needs on the plant floor is different from what a healthcare organization needs to manage patient information.
What they have in common is the need to use information more effectively and cut down on processes that slow people down.
Healthcare
Healthcare organizations continue to use technology to improve patient care and make information easier to access. Electronic Health Records (EHRs), telemedicine, wearable technology, and data analytics have changed how providers and patients interact.
Those tools also make privacy and security increasingly important. As more patient information moves between systems, healthcare organizations need to know that data is protected and available to the people who should have access to it.
Manufacturing
Manufacturers are using technology to get more information from equipment, production lines, and supply chains.
Industrial IoT (IIoT), predictive maintenance, robotics, and automation can give manufacturers a better view of what’s happening on the plant floor. That information can help identify problems earlier, reduce downtime, and keep production moving.
The bigger challenge is often getting information from those different systems into a form that people can actually use.
Retail
Retailers have access to more customer and operational data than ever before. The challenge is bringing that information together.
CRM systems, ecommerce platforms, inventory systems, and other applications can help retailers understand customers and manage operations. When those systems are connected, businesses have a better chance of seeing what customers are buying, where inventory is needed, and how different parts of the business are performing.
Technology
Technology companies are often early adopters of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, and data analytics. But using a lot of technology doesn’t automatically mean the business is well connected.
As technology companies grow, financial reporting, billing, revenue recognition, forecasting, and other processes can become more complicated. The systems that worked in the early stages of the company may start requiring more work from the finance team.
That’s particularly common with entry-level accounting software. If spreadsheets and manual processes are becoming a regular part of getting the books closed or producing reports, it may be worth looking at the limitations of QuickBooks and whether the current system still fits the business.
Our Approach to Digital Transformation
We believe digital transformation should start with what the business actually needs. That may mean replacing a system, connecting two applications, improving security, automating a manual process, or simply getting more out of technology you already have.
Here’s how we approach it:
- Customized Solutions: We work with clients to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and where technology is creating unnecessary work.
- System Integration: New technology still has to work with the systems you already use. We look at how information needs to move between applications and where integrations can reduce manual effort.
- User Enablement: A system doesn’t accomplish much if people don’t know how to use it. Training and support are part of helping employees get comfortable with new technology.
Digital transformation isn’t just about buying technology. It starts with having a digital transformation strategy that makes sense for the business.
What’s Next?
Digital transformation doesn’t have to mean changing everything at once. Sometimes the best place to start is with the systems or processes creating the most work.
Maybe information has to be entered in more than one place. Maybe reporting still depends on spreadsheets. Maybe employees are jumping between systems to find what they need. Or maybe a system that worked when the company was smaller just isn’t keeping up anymore.
That’s where LBMC Technology Solutions can help. We work with companies to figure out what’s getting in the way, what needs to change, and which technology makes sense for the business.
