Insights & guides for running organizations

Automation Is Not Digital Transformation: What Is the Difference Between Digitizing and Redesigning Business Processes?

One of the most common misconceptions in digital transformation is the belief that converting paper-based procedures into electronic processes means an organization has become digitally transformed. An organization may replace paper forms with digital forms, spreadsheets with software systems, or manual approvals with application-based workflows. These are useful improvements, but they do not necessarily represent Digital Transformation. If a slow and complicated process is transferred into a digital system without reconsidering how that process should work, the result may simply be: An old process operating electronically. Real transformation begins when the organization rethinks the process itself.