sharedserviceslink and Genpact are conducting a survey: Are digital technologies and analytics transforming business operations? We interviewed Subroto Gupta, Digital Transformation and Innovation Leader at Genpact on why this research is so important and what shared services need to know about the role digital technology plays in their future.
What is the driver for this research?
The fact that digital technologies give a competitive advantage and are disrupting business is understood. The challenge is what is the right way of making it happen. We are at an inflection point, but what is the optimal approach of making a transformation – and making this transformation happen? The biggest differentiator in today’s market is adaptability and agility.
However companies are struggling to transform and embark on that journey of transformation – and struggle to know exactly how they should go about transformation.
We are doing this research to try to put a number on how big a problem it is and what the biggest issues and challenges that companies are facing where are theses challenges leveraging technologies
What are some of the common barriers to adoption you see when it comes to using digital technology to support business operations?
It comes down to ‘the what’ and ‘the how’. What they need to do, and how they need to do it. One problem in larger companies is that a lot of times these choices are dictated by legacy: legacy investment, legacy constructs, which may or may not be aligned to the business outcomes you need.
What is key is that you need to think about ‘What should we do to transform? What do we need to do, and what is the right way of making it happen? What are the different ways to reach that goal?' And importantly you need to have a framework to evaluate choices and to define the most optimal roadmap to reach the desired end state.
What would you say are the keys to a successful transformation?
1. Start with the end in mind. The end is always business outcomes and any choices in your transformation or investment cannot lead by legacy, but must be led by the business outcomes. Whether it is trying to drive customer satisfaction, profitability, risk management and compliance – working capital rationalization, whatever the business outcomes you are trying to drive, we need to start from the business outcome and say if I were to drive this outcomes what are the drivers that make this outcome possible? In a scientific and thoughtful manor what are the drivers of those drivers-
2. Do not look at technology choices, operating model choices or analytics choices in isolation. You need to understand how they work together and use, what we call, feedback loops. As the biggest differentiators are agility and adaptability you need to ensure your business and operating model are agile to any changes in circumstance. A feedback loop can help you learn and act based on a constant information flow into the organization. A feedback loop will be collecting data and allow you to act on those insight to make you more effective those more effective.
So begin with the outcome in mind and what will drive that business outcome. Define your roadmap and create a virtuous cycle of feedback to drive that outcome
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