Cloud Transformation/Digital Channel Shift

There are three aspects.

1. You strategise about which services would most benefit from a move to digital channels and set key objectives.
2. Determine the process of moving existing face to face services to digital channels.
3. Deciding upon which digital/cloud based systems will help to most effectively facilitate such a move.

In terms of the strategy, although the difference in transaction costs between face to face and digital can be in excess of 90% lower per transaction, it’s often not just about cutting costs. It’s about a much more effective customer experience in delivering transactional based services on a 24/7 basis to fit in with the time pressure of peoples personal lives.

There are many challenges in successfully implementing these types of cloud transformation/digital channel initiatives, namely around the people, processes and technologies involved. They include:

• An unwillingness from the key decision makers to support a digital-first strategy
• Key decision makers having fears about making services available online
• A lack of digital-first skills, ranging from email and social media writing skills to basic IT skills
• Customers own perceptions that they will get better service if they call rather than use the web
• Senior managers insisting on having design control of how the website should serve the customers, despite not having the appropriate user experience skills
• Digital services not being visible to customers, so they don’t know about them
• Where a validated business case has not been produced, the cost of implementation can be surprising if benefits have not been articulated
• Organisations not understanding that channel shift is a continuous improvement journey, not a fixed term project
• That this is a journey, and while they may have achieved some initial success, they need to be thinking about what to do next (process)
• Organisations not focusing on the benefits of management information from the data and knowledge acquired.

• Having a clear target operating model (your future operating state) and a ‘go to market’ (procurement, contracting, mobilisation and supplier management) strategy, means you are more likely to achieve a successful implementation and operating benefits much faster.