FUTURE TRENDS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

MARK ACKERMAN, AREA VP FOR MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA, AT SERVICENOW, LISTS OUT FOUR MACRO TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE REGION’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN 2023

Another year of digital transformation in the region and where do we find ourselves? Much as we do at the end of any year — lessons learned and challenges ahead. For the past 30 months or so we have been grappling with change so deep and broad that it is bringing about dramatic cultural shifts from boardrooms to the enterprise front line. Faced with the very real possibility of market irrelevance, organisations across all industries are adjusting relationships with their workforces, looking into new business models, and experimenting with new technologies to compete and thrive.

In 2023, we should expect regional business leaders to demand more ROI on technology investments. Inflation rates may be lower in the GCC than they are in the Americas or Europe, but they are still of concern. The right digital investments could have a corrective impact on the bottom line. It is already hard to imagine a modern business that is not, to some extent, digital. And as we wade ever deeper into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (yes, it’s still with us), businesses should be prepared to address a range of issues, from the employee experience and its association with technology procurement to the ongoing pressures of regulatory compliance and ESG.

Here are four trends that will shape the region’s digitisation stories in 2023.

1Employee expectations regarding flexible working

In May this year, multiple media sources in the UAE were abuzz with the finding in a Cisco survey that 90% of the nation’s workers preferred remote or hybrid work and that 61% would be less likely to look elsewhere for opportunities if their employer implemented flexible work schedules. Collaboration tools, and the plethora of supporting platforms that governed, monitored, and scheduled work from afar during pandemic lockdowns were not wasted investments. The technology foundation is there to accommodate the relatively young workforces that span the Middle East and Africa.

IN 2023, AS ESG PRESSURE REACHES CRITICAL MASS, REGIONAL BUSINESSES WILL START TO FORM STRATEGIES AND FOCUS GROUPS. WHEN COMPLYING WITH GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY, AND MARKET EXPECTATIONS, IT WILL HELP TO HAVE THE RIGHT TALENT IN PLACE.

The good news is that businesses have already seen the productivity benefits that go along with homebased work. Far from the feared slow delivery and stale service that stopped pre-pandemic moves to remote-work models, we have seen staff morale and productivity receive notable boosts. Flexibility and automated workflows are recruiting badges, attracting young, driven professionals with much to offer. Firms will have a choice — deliver flexible work or try to get by with a stale unmotivated workforce.

2Talent sought, but where?

This issue compounds the first in that the very talent that is expecting enhanced work experiences can afford to make such demands because it is also in short supply. As time goes on, companies that do not respond to such trends will be hit by talent drains that will impact operations and service levels. At the same time, these same elements will be enhanced at enterprises that offer more alluring environments to their staff.

A recent survey by PwC showed that 47% of Middle East companies were addressing talent gaps by upskilling their workforces. Meanwhile, some 32% had opted for automation, including automation that enhanced the employee experience. This digitisation taking place side by side with upskilling is the ideal environment for today’s young professionals, as it gels with their outlook and ambition. So, in 2023, tools and training that empower each employee to innovate independently while working flexibly will be critical.

3AI and business intelligence In crisis, everyone looks around for reassurance. Businesses look around for ways of getting through the crisis and becoming immune to the next one. “Resilience” has been the word of the day for countless months. It remains so because of the aftershocks of the pandemic — supply-chain issues and inflation being just two examples. AI-powered analytics does not just allow real-time insights into the efficiency of processes and the profitability of business models; it clears the way for predictive analyses that show a path to long-term success.

When technology stacks include mechanisms for extracting meaningful, useful data from structured and unstructured sources and categorising it for presentation and review, decision makers get access to valuable knowledge. In 2023, we expect to see an innovation cycle, as the positive ROI from these technologies encourages yet more investment.

4The continued ascendancy of ESG

Environment. Social. Governance. Everyone everywhere now expects more from brands. There is no escaping it. Care for the planet; care for the communities you serve; and care for your employees and the major issues taking place around the world. Customers care about it, employees care about it, partners care about it. Investors and shareholders care about it.

In 2023, as ESG pressure reaches critical mass, regional businesses will start to form strategies and focus groups. When complying with government, industry, and market expectations, it will help to have the right talent in place. Conveniently, digital natives share an affinity with environmental and social matters. They will also be better placed to effectively use the technology platforms that produce ESG insights and drive progress in these matters.

Reach, and keep reaching

Nautical metaphors are common in the digital world. In that spirit: Technology has always kept us afloat. Even when we felt pushed below the surface, it had the power to bring our heads above water and, in some cases, make us soar above — high above — the waves. Those highflyers are always easily identified. They are the ones that spot trouble ahead of time. They are the ones that leverage the right technology at the right time in the right way to get the lift they need.

In 2023, they will be the ones that digitise workflows, look after employees and communities, and futureproof themselves against the crises to come.

TRANSFORMING YOUR BUSINESS

ANISH KANARAN, VICE PRESIDENT ERP, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA AT AZENTIO SOFTWARE, EXPLAINS WHY A GOOD CLOUD ERP SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE PILLARS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

Why should enterprises move ERP to the cloud?

The onset of Industry 4.0 has brought in a wave of changes that simply cannot be ignored. Customer demands are rapidly evolving, supply chain processes are moving towards total automation, and round-theclock interconnectivity has become an indispensable asset for any forward-thinking enterprise. In this transformative era, it has become imperative for organisations to enable smart systems across their business processes to keep up with the market.

One way to achieve this is through an Enterprise Resource Planning system on the cloud. The low startup cost and reasonable subscription fees make cloud-based ERP a highly accessible solution for startup businesses, allowing smaller and midmarket organisations to gain access to the same enterprise resource planning features of large corporations. The significant hike in productivity resulting from a cloud ERP is an accumulation of unlimited geographic accessibility, uninterrupted focus on in-house core competencies, real-time decision-making capabilities, and easy scalability, and the likes. It thus becomes effortless for an enterprise to devote more time and resources in other areas for improvement and growth while the cloud takes care of the business.

How do you support your customers in their digital transformation journeys?

At Azentio Software, we are consistently striving to create truly innovative software products that cater to banking, financial services, insurance providers, and midmarket enterprises across the Asia, Middle East and Africa regions. Our mission is to help our clients deliver world-class services to their customers in the most competitive, productive, and compliant way possible. Our world-class suite of products is continually being refurbished and streamlined to keep our clients attuned to the large-scale digital transformation happening in key industries across the globe.

Our newest launch, ONEERP Industry Cloud, is a fully integrated and collaborative system collaging the digital manufacturing and SCM components that address dynamic conditions in the industry value chain and shifting customer demands. The focus of ONEERP Cloud is to have capabilities to integrate diversified processes in the industry and systems to enable smart systems. This is managed by connected devices with supporting data being collected and collaborated with decision making at appropriate stages. This integrated smart system also utilises the capabilities of other code and no-code systems through integrations to support and extend its functionalities.

What are the key benefits of your ONEERP Industry Cloud solution?

Technically reverberant, the ONEERP Industry Cloud solution works with multiple cloud platform-agnostic considering OCI, AWS, and other cloud platforms.

This trailblazing solution is built for clients of different sizes with a capability to provide exclusive tenancy for each of their application and database needs and ensure their privacy and security. Through ONEERP Cloud, we can connect to various omnichannels and deliver a seamless digital experience for customers. The data is facilitated by mobile, cloud-based solutions. Our extensive network of channel partners assists in the implementation of ONEERP as a system integrator for the organisation, being responsible for the project schedule encompassing the onboarding, execution, and delivery. The ONEERP Solution Manager effectively delivers pre-configured process, SDK/reporting tools to personalize the application, and facilitate the effectiveness of the partner-led implementation. In addition, ONEERP Cloud features a refreshing new look, and refined role boards with KPIs and workflow that ensure a powerful UX, which helps track organisational performance to take total control of the business.

How does it support Industry 4.0?

ONEERP Cloud has been developed on the key aspects of Industry 4.0. It can be integrated with diverse partners to provide relevant data from different IoT devices, and thus, the ERP system can use it. Its APIcentric architecture helps unlock business and technical usage, warrants the easy access to data to increase collaboration, bridges the technology gap, manages the resources, mitigates the risk, and increases the integration speed. This also facilitates the adoption of the platform economy, digitisation, automation, and ensures the distribution of the developed code and services across channels, devices, and interfaces. This further enables application integration with external business-tobusiness and within an enterprise itself. In closing, the intelligent ONEERP Cloud software expertly elevates business processes by means of ultramodern technology, software fortification, bestin-class scalability, and much more to keep businesses one step ahead of the competition.