Enterprise systems digital transformation

The role of an Digital Systems Strategy is to help the organisation to implement and exploit the full potential of its business strategy in such a way that it offers the company a superior and sustainable competitive advantage relative to its rivals. Furthermore, an effective Digital Systems Strategy must be aligned with the company’s business strategy.

Strategic Objectives to be achieved through the implementation of ‘future-proof’ modern, flexible, scalable Enterprise Digital Technology Systems that can be integrated with the Client’s existing applications & interfaces in order to secure Client’s Digital Assets (Data & Information).

At A.T.M Strategic Management Consulting Limited we believe that any Digital Systems Strategy should include the Five Key Principles listed below:

Deliver improvements & stability, build strategic capabilities & transform through Digital Technology Solution(s) including AI, RPA, ERP, Cloud Infra, in order to achieve the following key objectives through a number of transformational, implementation & delivery Phases, including:

1. Automation – Critical Business workflows and processes seamlessly automated with proper Life-cycle Management while compliant with all the global reporting standards, GDPR, Risk Management & Security Standards
2. Improved Security – to mitigate the gaps & risks and significantly improve the Security and Access Management.
3. Improved compliance – including Security audits, processes & governance compliance will be significantly improved across Business & Operations.
4. Improved Auditability – ERP systems will be significantly enhance auditability in a faster real-time & quickly pinpoint any security breaches & issues.
5. Reduction in Remediation & Admin Effort & Cost – due to the improved information, enhanced security audits & reports it will become easier & faster and cheaper to address any remediation issues post ERP deployment. Overall, numbers of tools & processes will be standardised that will significantly reduce the cost of maintenance & support

At A.T.M Management Consulting we describe Transformational Cloud / Hybrid-cloud as the essential enabler for realising your wider Digital Strategy & Transformation and achieving ‘Cost Advantage’. For example, if Cloud Strategy & Architecture is correctly selected & deployed it could typically give your organisation 30-40% cost savings over the traditional in-house physical infrastructure model. So, the cost savings that can be realised from Cloud Strategy & Architecture deployment, your organisation can focus these scarce Financial Resources to achieve your wider Digital Strategy & Transformation.

At A.T.M, we believe Transformation Cloud Strategy & Architecture to ensure Global Access from ‘any where’ to company’s information & data by the authorised people & partners that is absolutely an uninterrupted and seamless in a secure & compliant, and in a most cost-effective manner. By leveraging the latest Cloud-driven Intelligent Automation this can be achieved through the implementation of ‘flexible & future-proof’ modern, scalable Cloud / Hybrid Cloud Architecture that can support existing applications, infrastructure, networks & interfaces in order to secure & enhance your organisations Digital Assets (Data & Information). This of course will require that your organisation can develop a robust migration to Cloud Strategy while protecting your existing business services & operations. Logically categorise, plan & prioritise migration targets to reduce the Cloud Transition Timescales, including:

1. Consolidate – your Legacy into more Flexible Infrastructure – multiple legacy infrastructure Server/Storage/Networks on a ‘fit-for-purpose’ Target Cloud Platform that would significantly reduce your existing ‘footprint’ and ongoing operating costs. Consolidate existing ‘end-points’ to fewer end points ‘where possible’ (less ‘end points’ less maintenance, and configuration & change management)
2. Flexible & Robust Cloud-based Architecture = Enabling Future Digital Transformation Capabilities – ensure Cloud Architecture & Design is robust enough that is capable of supporting & adopting and compatible with your existing legacy interfaces as well as emerging ‘Digital Interfaces’. Seamless integration between connected interfaces delivering improved user experience. Robust Cloud Architecture can support your existing/current Business Service Requirements for Database Synchronisation & Replication and Database Performance as per your current & future Digital Strategy requirements. Seek opportunities for improvement ‘where possible’ to improve Performance, Availability and Reliability metrics.
3. Simplify & Standardise – adopt ‘best practices’ industry standards, reduce complexity and increase productivity & efficiency through improved configurations, provisioning, commissioning processes and CICD/DevOps tools using a flexible Cloud Platform supporting parallel change environment, Agile and DevOps release management principles ‘where possible & applicable’.
4. Deliver ‘Value-for-Money’ – your ‘as-is’ physical setup unlikely to achieve this outcome due to your inflexible Infrastructure & Data Centres that are prone to continual Capex investment requirements in order to ‘keep-it-in-life’ supported in order to Protect your ‘as-is’ Business Services. The right Transformational Cloud Strategy & Architecture can give you the possibility of ‘Evergreen Cloud infrastructure’ e.g. no more recurring Capex Investment. The Capex savings that you can make from the avoided investment, you can refocus on in your Digital Strategy & Transformation that can give you the Competitive-Edge.

At A.T.M Strategic Management Consulting, we are passionate that every element of your Transformational Cloud Strategy & Architecture what we design and implement, it is tightly aligned with your specific Business Strategies & Objectives. The Cloud Strategies we design are always People-Centric NOT Technology-Centric – based on our unequivocal belief that people must be at the heart of the entire technology & infrastructure design & transformation process, deployment & end-to-end integration with all the business & operational processes and adhering to flexible digital work-practices.

AI driven-automation ‘often called automation 4’ has already started, and we believe this is going to have a huge impact on the global industries, skills & future-of-work as we know it.

This AI automation phase starting now is likely to advance over the next 15-20 years across all industries and sectors predominantly replacing wholesale semi-skilled (30-40% repetitive administrative jobs), especially those that can be easily automated using AI-enabled Robotics processes automation replacing humans. This automation phase will extend further with the evolution of Driver-less Cars & transportation, engineering & factory process, and industry supply-chain.

We believe, while AI has the immense potential to improve productivity, efficiency, and accuracy, improve human living-standards, diagnose control & manages disease faster & better than ever before. However, those organisation that fail to adapt AI early and incorporate into their Business & Digital Strategies, most likely to face major havoc through their traditional business models, massive human displacement creating joblessness, uncertainty, and leading to a dangerous division & conflicts between societies and countries.

Deliver improvements & stability, build strategic capabilities & transformation through Artificial Intelligence (AI) Driven Automation in order to achieve the following key objectives through a number of transformational, implementation & delivery Phases, including:

1. Automation – Critical Business workflows and processes seamlessly automated as well as being able to respond to customer needs faster and deliver business-value
2. Business Intelligence & Decision-making – real-time or inflight Data Analytics to support rapid quality decision-making in order to capture real-time business opportunity and deliver ever-demanding customer needs.
3. Improved Productivity & Efficiency – driven by real-time accurate data and quality decision-making business productivity & efficiency can be enhanced rapidly as well as improving opportunities for investment and ROI.
4. Improve Time, Quality & Cost Reduction – due to the improved data intelligence & decision-making, it will become faster and cheaper to address as well as improvement in quality. Overall, numbers of tools & processes will be standardised that will significantly reduce the cost of ongoing business support across the organisation

Information Management Strategy is concerned with the information technology infrastructure and how the information should be collected, filtered and managed. One of the most crucial considerations is how the systems are most effectively deployed to meet the organisation’s business needs.

For example, if the organisation is trying to become knowledge-based, its key management issues need to be addressed as to how the information is stored, who can access it and when & where that access should be available.

Consideration also needs to be given to how the information is formatted, and how it can best be reported to the appropriate executives for use in the strategic decision-making process.

Infrastructure Technology Strategy is concerned with physical hardware and software issues. A key first consideration is whether developing the systems on mainframe computers, mini-computers, large file servers, workstations, or stand-alone desktops would best meet the business’ needs. Following on from that, decisions need to be made as to whether the company should use an Extranet or Intranet system as a way of communicating within its value chain (e.g. suppliers and customers) and within its organisation – and which applications/software systems will meet the company’s business & strategic objectives and best support its core business & operational processes.

The Strategic Objective is to give the right people access to the right information in a secure, auditable and in a compliant manner from anywhere at anytime as/when required over the global internet. This is to be to be achieved through the implementation of ‘future-proof’ integrated Cyber Security Strategy & Solution integrated with the organisation’ existing applications & interfaces in order to secure Client’s Digital Assets (Data & Information). Strategy is intended to achieve the following key objectives through a number of transformational, implementation & delivery Phases, including:

1. Automation – business & operational workflows and processes removing Risky access to the information & Data
2. Improved Security – to mitigate the gaps & risks and significantly improve the Security and Access Management.
3. Improved compliance – including Security audits, processes & governance compliance will be significantly improved across Business & Operations.
4. Improved Auditability – will be significantly enhance auditability in a faster real-time & quickly pinpoint any security breaches & issues.
5. Reduction in Remediation & Admin Effort & Cost – due to the improved information, enhanced security audits & reports it will become easier & faster and cheaper to address any remediation issues post IDAM deployment. Overall, numbers of tools & processes will be standardised that will significantly reduce the cost of maintenance

Implementation Strategy is concerned with how to implement the systems decided in the previous stages. Having decided the configuration (i.e. distributed, centralised or decentralised) and the hardware and software, a decision needs to be taken on who will implement, install, maintain and support the system. For example, should it be developed in-house or should it be outsourced? Should only the hardware be outsourced and software developed in-house or both outsourced completely? This decision will need to be taken based on the level of the in-house IS/IT capabilities available.

The IS strategy, information strategy, information management strategy, and infrastructure technology strategy should be assessed and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are fit for purpose and that they align with the business’ strategic objectives. Where complete outsourcing or selective outsourcing contracts have been signed, they must be reviewed to ensure that they are delivering the expected value, performance and business benefits – and whether they meet the objectives that have been set out & agreed.

British Petroleum provides an example of best practice in this area. Having pioneered outsourcing in the 90s, the company tends to review contracts on a yearly basis to ensure business objectives are met. The company also regularly reviews whether there are alternative suppliers who could deliver a better or more innovative technology to provide the company with a comparative competitive advantage. Furthermore, BP has multiple suppliers providing different services to ensure that it does not become stuck with a single vendor or service provider.

An Information Systems Strategy should not only contain IT Strategy: It should also take into account organisational issues such as change management and a human resources strategy associated with IS. In other words, the strategy needs to take into account the manner in which one might move from one organisational structure to another. (For example, from an in-house development and maintenance model to the complete outsourcing of systems that will inevitably have a dramatic impact on people’s jobs and skills.)

We believe the components outlined above are the crucial building blocks of any successful Information Systems Strategy – and as such they form the basis of our approach which is, above all else, geared to providing practical solutions.

At A.T.M Strategic Management Consulting Limited we are passionate that every element of what we design and implement, it is tightly aligned with that specific client’s business strategies & objectives.

The strategies we design are always people-centric NOT technology-centric – based on our unequivocal belief that people must be at the heart of the entire technology & infrastructure design process, deployment & end-to-end integration with all the business & operational processes.

The Infrastructure must support the >People who drive the >Processes, which in turn drives >Productivity and ultimately leads on to >Profitability/Performance.

Our portfolio of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Technology Design, Development & Implementation services includes the following Digital Transformation / Technology Services Portfolio