The notion of working digital within business has been around for quite some time, with different industries taking a different stance towards it.
Whilst organisations within technology are almost required to adopt digital advancements, there are other industries where motivation to adopt paperless methods is not as strong. By their current processes, methods or operating ways, some organisations have less of a need or incentive to adopt the new way of thinking and working. It is often the case that methods that have worked for decades don’t necessarily need rethinking, or at least so it can seem.
The fault within this approach is more evident when you look towards tomorrow’s world. As is evident in the rise and fall of many organisations, the gap between competition in business is ever-tightening, with the intensity rife. So what do organisations do when the products, services or offering are very similar? They revolutionise what they can control behind the scenes. In a sense embracing digital within business within the organisational side often means the consumer can get better value from their product, service or offering. It likely costs your organisation less to provide due to the numerous advantages and improvements that digital brings. So if not for your own sake, why not embrace digital within business for the sake of the customer?
It has long been said that within business cash is king. In the 21st century, there is a new kid on the block; information. During the early 2000s when the word cloud meant water vapour and smartphones were in their infancy, it would be hard to comprehend the importance of connectivity in today’s world. Today organisations focus on their analytics of Big Data, which has taken an almost fundamental position in business development. Access to such information gives knowledge such as Return on Investment statistics (ROI), consumer insights, market performance, asset performance, organisational historical statistics etc. Today’s business information and analysis ultimately controls the king of the 20th century – cash.
If information is the most important thing for businesses to master today, then how does one go about it? The simple answer is to embrace every piece of digital information available. Within every statistic is a representation of performance that can measured against historical records, industry standards or organisational targets. To ensure this data is accurately captured, analysed and used for strategic decision making, many organisations are turning to Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). These systems provide every employee with access to a digital platform where they can record, track or access information relevant to them. Via the use of a mobile device in the form of a tablet or smartphone, employees can perform workplace tasks, request more information or send their information to other departments or employees. And so the cycle of information sharing begins.
The benefits of information sharing in a connected workplace are far reaching and all-encompassing. Employees tracking assets, performance or quality control can keep relevant parties informed during the course of such an inspection. The data and information captured can instantly be measured against historical values or organisational targets and the correct action be taken via systemised prompts. Maintenance teams receive all the same information and can hence order parts for equipment or prepare for providing potential customer or employee support. For management level, digital within business means a broad oversight of all operations, with digital records of every action within the business. This gives a highly simplified audit trail thanks to the digital diary of the business that is created with the historical logging of information. Company updates to working procedures, products or services can be issued immediately instead of phasing out via word-of-mouth dramatically reducing equipment ‘down-time’ or retraining costs.
With many more benefits often realised than outlined here, it’s easy to understand why digital within business isn’t just relevant today but crucial for the future. Many organisations are seeing how digital within business is becoming more and more fundamental to securing customers, building business partnerships and improving organisational information use. On top of this, digital methods are giving businesses improved efficiency and increased workplace productivity, which in any industry is a very good thing. Digital within business is here to stay and it’s time to fully embrace it.