Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 70 | Page 74

FINAL WORD

Develop a deep understanding of processes to derive meaningful value from digitisation

Norma-Jean Samuriwo , Principal Consultant , Analyze Consulting , discusses here how organisations in Africa can develop deep understanding of process to derive meaning value from their digitisation efforts .

No matter where you look , it ’ s easy to find stories about how technology can radically overhaul a business ’ s efficiency and competitiveness . It ’ s true , but starting there puts the cart before the horse , as it is also true that investing in technology for technology ’ s sake can end up being an expensive exercise that changes little or nothing to improve business outcomes .

The starting point in any Digital Transformation story must start with your problem statement . In other words , what are we trying to achieve ? Perhaps there is a problem that needs fixing or perhaps the desired outcome is aspirational . But the fact remains that this is the starting point that informs everything that follows .
In the case of business problems , one lands on pain points by listening to customers . Your customers talk to you about their frustrations with their spend , actions and behaviour . These problems are symptomatic of something . Once you appreciate this you go down the value chain to find the root cause or causes .
By way of analogy , imagine a situation where customers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the cancellations department . It is a point of great friction as customer frustration boils over due to delays in cancelling contracts or services . The easy route would be to look at how cancellations are managed , and then change it to become easy and fast . But is this really a win ?
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