Unified Communication & Collaboration: A Key Driver of Digital Transformation
Ineffective communication has been cited as a critical reason for workplace failures, and many surveys have acknowledged its importance. One study showed that 86% of the interviewed employees and decision-makers agreed that ineffective communication and collaboration will ultimately result in workplace failure. When asked about the leading causes of poor collaboration, a third of the study subjects stated that inadequate communication and collaboration channels were the reason for their dissatisfaction.
A poor communication culture driven by the use of inadequate collaboration tools has also been highlighted as a leading cause of digital transformation initiatives' failure. Sears's digital transformation failures and bankruptcy underscore the importance of a unified communication and collaboration tool to drive change.
Sears embarked on an ambitious digital transformation endeavour to digitize its entire supply chain, internal collaboration, and customer engagement processes across its retail empire. However, instead of adopting a unified, centralised collaboration solution, the retailer opted for a complex web of 30 different electronic data interchange mechanisms and multiple collaboration tools to manage its 30 supply chains and hundreds of stores. The result was chaos, with internal conflicts and soaring digital transformation costs shattering its implementation strategy.
Accelerating Digital Transformation Strategies with Unified Communication and Collaboration Solutions
For many SMBs, email solutions are their primary collaboration and communication tool, with 92% using emails to communicate with employees and customers. Although emails may serve as an excellent broadcasting and marketing medium, they are not practical collaboration tools. Emails do not provide supporting features to automate document sharing, create schedules, assign tasks, support visual or audio meetings, and do not facilitate remote work or digital transformation.
The Role of Software
Unified communication and collaboration frameworks that enable digital transformation include software applications and hardware solutions. Software applications or platforms are the backbone for digitally transforming communication. Examples such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom are generally taxed with enabling digital meetings and employee training across cross-functional departments.
These platforms also support extensions or plugins built to deliver core functionalities such as document management, meeting scheduling, and content creation activities to optimise collaborative effort. Examples include Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive, which are included in Microsoft’s 365 Suite of collaborative products. Implementing communication and collaborative digital transformations with these solutions creates a unified or centralised architecture that eliminates confusion.
In addition to the examples above, open-source tools that facilitate the digital transformation of collaboration and communication processes may be used. It is worth noting that users may need to configure these solutions into their existing communication platforms to unify collaboration, which could be challenging for many SMBs.
Hardware Considerations
Collaborative and communication software or platforms do not function in vacuums. They are interconnected with extensive hardware to deliver or receive digital information effectively. Generally, hardware solutions that complement digital transformation applications are used for visualisation and audio communications. Examples include visualisation screens such as Newline screens and Jabra conference speakers or headphones.
Implementing digital transformation strategies to support remote or hybrid work requires further hardware considerations. These hardware devices, including IoT products, human-machine interface devices, and edge computing devices, are used to communicate or capture data to aid collaborative efforts.
Benefits of Unifying Communication and Collaboration Process
The advantages of unifying communication and collaboration tools to drive digital transformation efforts cut across increasing productivity, improving efficiency, and reducing operational costs. Here are some statistics that highlight these benefits:
- 83% of employees say they have a better grasp of projects and execution timelines when using project management tools to collaborate. (Project.co)
- 65% of workers prefer collaborative and communication platforms that support instant messaging and video conferencing within a platform. (rocket.chat)
- Organizations can improve the productivity of knowledge workers by 25% using social and collaboration technologies. (McKinsey)
- Digital communication and collaboration technologies can unlock up to $100 billion in value worldwide because of the productivity boost it offers organisations. (McKinsey)
If digital collaborative tools are adequately harnessed, enterprises in the education sector, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail can realise these benefits. In the education sector, over 240,000 educational institutions use Microsoft Teams to streamline hybrid and remote learning. The example of Kinsale Community School’s challenges with delivering remote learning opportunities and centralising internal communication processes highlights how unified collaboration drives productivity.
Using Microsoft Teams and extensive expert support from Beedle, a third-party managed IT services provider, the institution developed a unified collaboration platform that facilitated internal and external collaborations with staff and students. The unified communication and collaborative platform enabled educators to plan meetings, schedule online classes, and easily share documents, thus increasing productivity.
Healthcare providers leverage unified communication and collaboration tools to save clinical time, reduce operational costs, and optimise hospital capacity plans and schedules. The example of the National Health Service (NHS), England’s healthcare system and the second largest single-payer healthcare system worldwide, highlights these benefits. Specialist nurses have utilised Microsoft Teams to guide caregivers in handling wounds and other patient needs. The NHS also leverage Teams to manage meetings and deliver video consultations, thus saving clinical hours.
The manufacturing industry also leverages unified collaboration tools to enable Industry 4.0, which includes the digital transformation of the manufacturing shop floor. The example of Singapore Polytechnic and Fong Engineering’s partnership with Microsoft showcases the ability of unified collaboration solutions to transform conventional manufacturing processes. In this scenario, the partnership focused on using Microsoft Teams to close skill gaps by educating prospective technicians. Fong Engineering developed a custom learning path through Microsoft’s ‘Let’s Skill up’ program and taught employees through Teams. The partnership sped up Fong Engineering’s Industry 4.0 adoption timeline and increased productivity on the shop floor.
Increasing Your Chances of a Successful Digital Transformation
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of AI assistants and chatbots is expected to simplify communication and collaborative efforts through automation. AI assistants will create schedules, drive governance and compliance, optimise communications, and handle repetitive tasks. This will further increase productivity, help cut operational costs, and free up employees to focus on their core competencies.
The examples of Fong Engineering and Kinsale Community School should serve as a template for successfully leveraging unified communication and collaboration solutions. In these examples, partnerships with expert-managed IT services providers played crucial roles in helping these organisations achieve their digital transformation goals. Digital transformation partners help create implementable roadmaps and achievable milestones.
How can we help?
As a pioneer in document solutions for over 50 years, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Singapore has a deep understanding of how businesses operate. Our mission is to empower organisations to work efficiently and effectively in the digital age. We offer a comprehensive suite of digital transformation solutions and services, partnering our customers in managing data to automate workflows, leverage data intelligence, and build exceptional customer experiences.
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