DIGITAL
DEBATE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
PRESENT: Chris Brown
Brown and Co Accountants Oli Clarke
Teal / Senator Group Andrew Dewhurst
Nelson and Colne College Group Dan Knowles
Northern Reach
Jacob Knowles Empine Group
Lottie Robinson University of Central Lancashire
Stewart Townsend MadeByAI
Dave Walker +24
DIGITAL’S HARD DRIVE FORWARD
Does digital transformation hold the key to business success? We brought our expert panel to the offices of +24 in Padiham to discuss the opportunities it can open up, including how to harness the power of data
What do we mean by digital transformation?
LR: It is looking at generating value for businesses. How is that value created? What it means and then identifying areas where we can increase it.
That may be through technology, it may be through processes. It may be through people skills, capabilities. How do we then measure that success? We need to be clear what that success looks like. Do we have the appropriate metrics in place to actually measure what we’re trying to do?
It might be that the business realises it is behind its competitors and needs to speed up what it is delivering. There may be an opportunity for innovation that can be capitalised on by going through transformation. Or it may be something like a cyber event that acts as a kind of catalyst. It is different for each organisation.
DW: Making a digital transformation in large organisations is quite a challenge. Generally speaking if we were to be supporting a company on its digital transformation, we’d do it in small chunks.
Businesses that try and do everything all at once are generally the ones that really struggled to deliver. So we’ll break it down into small transformations that make the ultimate digital transformation.
Ultimately it is about creating efficiencies through the use of digital technologies. These efficiencies aren’t just business processes. We’ve also got to look at sustainability and things like people’s wellbeing.
A lot of things can be impacted positively through digital transformation, not just the bottom line, although that is usually a key driver.
It’s not just the
accuracy of the data but how quickly you can get it to make decisions
DK: It’s the same thing for all businesses. It’s adding your value creation through processes. For me it’s a lot about using technology to free up the people in the business to do the things that the business positions itself to do.
It’s complex. I work with some companies who have blue chip clients and are integrating user records from different software sources. These are huge transformational projects integrating new businesses they have brought in from elsewhere.
of their journey. Suddenly they have to integrate things like Office 365 to multiple people.
Ultimately it is driven by the people to make lives and jobs easier and more efficient. The real thing for me is ‘value creation’.
AD: All digital transformation is very much about how we differentiate ourselves in making the very best of what we do in our market. For us it is how we can deliver a fantastic leaner experience for our students.
So yes it is differentiation and adding value, but how does it make us the best we can possibly be for our learners? You need a plan, a digital strategy,
For us it has five pillars: leadership and governance, the learner experience, curriculum development and tech foundations.
OC: For me digital transformation is about trying to make systems and processes more efficient and value added to make us more competitive. We’re manufacturers, so we’re all about outputs, quality and efficiency - these types of things.
Red Rose Awards 2024 will take place on March 14 at Winter Gardens Blackpool – entries open in October 2023.
Then there are people like me, scaling at a very small level with a couple of staff and at the start
How can we make more with less? A lot of our products are made by hand and you can’t really digitally transform a person to make a product. So it is all about the processes around that. It is more about business transformation.
Continued on page 30 LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
DEBATE 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
