Digitalisation is a hot topic in the business world right now. But what exactly does it mean? We explain what it is, how it is impacting businesses now, and what it means for the market in the future.

Digitalisation is the process of converting material or information into a digital form.

Many businesses are now transitioning online in a bid to streamline the management and day to day running of operations. This shift is being powered by a new wave of technology that allows companies of all shapes and sizes to be more strategic and efficient. This trend is set to continue as more businesses understand the benefits of digitalisation and move to capitalise on them.

From storing documents, online-backups, workflow and document management to remote working, the possibilities are endless. The process is faster, more efficient and safer than offline equivalents. The process of automation saves you time, space and money.

Key benefits:

• Increases efficiency
• Reduces operational costs
• Enables data to be analysed
• Safer data storage in the cloud
• Lack of human error

Here are three popular processes and how they can be improved by automation:

The Cloud

The role of technology in the workplace has changed dramatically. Cloud computing is technology that can help your company gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. The introduction of cloud computing has revolutionised how businesses operate, providing new levels of flexibility and access via remote working.

Cloud computing is the delivery of IT services online in the ‘cloud’. A growing number of businesses are adopting this application for their IT infrastructure. It is more secure – hosting your systems on remote servers protects your information, prevents data loss and allows for a more effective and protected storage solution. It is also more reliable with automated data backups and disaster recovery.

Cloud computing comes in three forms: public clouds, private clouds, and hybrids clouds.

The right solution for you will depend on the scale and scope of business, as well as your data requirements.

Workflow and Document Management

Another way to increase productivity is through automated workflow. This is a system that digitally produces, tracks and manages documents associated with your business processes.

Many businesses find they have large paper archives and countless boxes of old documents that are taking up valuable office space. Over the years it’s likely that the organisation and storage of these documents will fall into disarray, leaving a large paper trail of archived work.

Effective workflows are crucial; the more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable they are, the better prepared you will be for the future workplace.

Effective workflows are crucial; the more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable they are, the better prepared you will be for the future workplace. An improvement strategy will help manage your documents whether they are paper, electronic or digital.

There are many benefits to this; reduced costs, improved efficiency, security, which is especially important to those who must comply with rules around legal or sensitive data. You can control when, who and to what capacity certain people access documents, with a solid authorised paper trail.

Popular departments who benefit from this process includes digital mailrooms, recruitment, HR and finance management divisions. Essentially it allows you to manage your information, analyse current performance and optimise for continued improvement.

Data Capture

Intelligent data capture manages the process of capturing incoming information or data to your business, ensuring it is processed and documented efficiently.

Information coming into an organisation typically arrives in paper, fax, web or email format. With intelligent data capture solutions, information can be automatically classified, extracted, validated and shared with digital workflows or existing ERP systems.

There are many data capture technologies that organisations can incorporate into their processes, the most suitable will depend on the nature of the business. Digital pens, tablet or OCR intelligent document and image scanning are the most popular. The information gathered can then integrate with host systems and pre-defined databases – automating the process from start to finish.

When data capture is #digitalised and #automated, it eliminates the #HumanError factor and will increase data quality and accuracyClick To Tweet

When this process is digitalised and automated, it eliminates the human error factor and will increase data quality and accuracy. It also saves a huge amount of time, increases efficiency and productivity and lowers organisational and storage costs. It improves business processes and increases transparency internally.

Popular for mailroom, field operations and accounts payable automation, data capture is a smart digital solution for many businesses.

These three core processes used together or in isolation can have a dramatic effect on operations. We now live in a digital age, and as the technology advances so will the way in which we all work.

Digital transformation and disruption have been making waves lately across all industries. To stay relevant, companies, departments and individuals need to know exactly where business technology is headed and be sure to stay on top of each shifting digital trend.

Those who embrace these technical advancements into their business structure will thrive, those who don’t risk being left behind the digital revolution.