Are integrated internal IT teams the secret to successful digital transformation?
Efficiency and technology go hand in hand, with the latter rapidly becoming the most important aspect for the growth of SMEs.
Whether technology is your business’ core offering or simply part of the processes and methodology, in today’s digital and competitive environment, differentiation against the competition, staying at the forefront of innovation and giving customers what they need are essential, and all of this depends on technology.
It is thus crucial to business success to integrate IT managers or decision makers’ input across all business decisions - especially if we want to guarantee efficiency. And ITDMs would agree, as reflected in a recent Brother survey targeted at decision makers in IT departments. The majority of respondents (88%) agreed that it is important for their team to be well integrated into the business. And, 72% of respondents consider that the IT team is very involved in business efficiency, however, this is not put into practice as much as it should be: only around a quarter consider that they are 'very well integrated' in terms of business objectives, another 25% see this integration only as 'acceptable' (the consensus is slightly better when asked about integration in operations and business processes).
And without integration, IT teams do not have the control needed to ensure process and productivity remain high. Inefficiencies, and lack of collaboration can easily result, as an example, technology being purchased or decisions made regarding it without the involvement of the IT team, or vice versa, which can result in having tools that do not fulfill the function that was needed or that they do not meet the anticipated scalability needs.
The value of the right technology
It is the IT team that oversees evaluating, purchasing and supervising the implementation of systems and tools that manage business processes, communication channels, customer experiences and interfaces, as well as ensuring that organization infrastructure is integrated with client and suppliers' systems and equipment. It is thus clear that the team responsible for all this also has a huge role to play in the efficiency of the business and integrating IT teams into the decision making process will undoubtedly lead to greater efficiency and even profitability.
The integration of this team with other company divisions and management, is essential to ensure that the right technology is deployed in the right place and that it performs the necessary function. But this, which may seem obvious, is not always taken into account in today's small and medium-sized companies, where it is not so common for IT teams to be part of the strategic decisions made by the company.
According to a study carried out by Brother, when we talk about improving efficiency, the priorities for companies are data management (35%), artificial intelligence (31%) and cybersecurity (30%). Businesses also put a high priority on improving productivity, which can be achieved through the digitalization of business processes, the implementation of remote work or the speed of communications. All of the above will likely need some sort of technical support, and IT are the team that can help with this.
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Communication for IT integration
But if there is such a need, why are ITDMs/IT departments still so disconnected with the rest of a business? There may be many obstacles that prevent this integration and overcoming them represents, in practice, a leap in management quality. It is essential to investigate the obstacles and then, how to overcome them. In Brother’s survey, one in four IT decision makers said working in different locations is the main reason why IT teams are not integrated. But also differences in priorities between departments, in almost the same proportion (22%).
Let's look at these barriers in a little more detail:
Integrate IT teams to optimize digital transformation
There are many benefits to a well-integrated IT team at management level. Starting with making technical decisions realistic and consistent with business objectives, for example, cybersecurity solutions that truly cover the data value chain, or printing solutions that are flexible and neither oversized nor undersized.
Let's take a simplified example where the IT team is disconnected to management: there may be a decision maker, perhaps from the purchasing department, who places an order for printers for internal use. The equipment may be cheap, high-quality, but it may not be able to connect efficiently to the existing network or meet the company's cybersecurity requirements. This would undoubtedly multiply not only the costs, but also the time and resources dedicated to making this new equipment work.
An IT team integrated into business decision-making will have more freedom and, therefore, will be able to perform better infrastructure optimization and strengthen the relationship with technological partners that support and promote their objectives, avoiding this type of problems. And this is precisely where they can add value: in the research and evaluation of the best solutions (for the company) and in their work in collaboration with the appropriate suppliers and partners so that the choices are not only correct, but that are carried out efficiently.
At Brother we know this, and we can offer the support that companies need to receive advice and maintenance on specific functions, security and, of course, how to integrate the new solutions with the rest of the company's systems – because integration is always the key.
In summary, the integration of the IT department alongside strategic business decision-making will allow for the company to be as efficient as possible and stand out among the competition.