Actively shaping digitization in medium-sized companies

Tentative digitization in medium-sized companies

Medium-sized companies in particular often have great respect for digitization and tend to simply postpone projects. Digitization takes place anyway , whether medium-sized companies want it or not, whether companies design the process or not. So why only react when you can also act? Digitization is neither a conviction nor a world view and certainly not an end in itself. It is a tool of economic and economic development. And digitization should be approached in a structured way. It makes no sense to indiscriminately turn everything upside down in all areas of a company. Rather, a targeted approach must be pursued, especially in medium-sized companies, and digitized in those areas that make sense.

Digitization is old hat

And digitization is actually nothing new. Digitization had already begun when letters were made into fax messages and the first fax or facsimile machine was brought onto the market in 1974. The foundation of the World Wide Web in 1989 also played a large part in this. However, the term is new. In 1974 nobody was talking about the age of digitization. And no one could foresee where the journey would lead.

Digitization is therefore the continuation of a process that began in the mid-1960s with the introduction of the first IBM mainframes. Compared to then, the time periods for individual digitization steps have now shrunk considerably. And at the same time, the costs have also fallen massively. Not only more corporations with a budget in the billions can afford to digitize. Rather, today one can speak of a proletarianization of digitization and areas and processes can be digitized that nobody thought of just a few years ago.

Digitization is already here

So we have long since arrived in a digitized world. Digitization no longer only affects classic IT companies, but companies across all industries and sectors. New or changed business models are emerging: cars are shared via app, languages are learned online and music is streamed. But industry is also changing: 3D printers produce machine parts, robots assemble them, and entire factories are intelligently networked with one another. Nevertheless, many medium-sized companies are reluctant to go digital.

Digitization as an opportunity

The reservations in companies are manifold: from the fear of change, the high costs and unmanageable consulting services to the fear of overwhelming employees with the flood of innovations. The role of digitization experts today is therefore more and more to clear up reservations and to counter them with clear structures, clear concepts and a transparent cost concept, for example. And with the necessary training for the employees so that nobody gets lost in the process.

As digitization fundamentally changes our work processes, it can happen that certain jobs become obsolete. On the other hand, it is not yet foreseeable which new jobs will be created as a result, what opportunities will arise. From today's perspective, however, it appears that just as the industrial revolution did not abolish human labor, neither will the digital revolution.

Clarify expectations of the digitization project

Main conflicts in digitization arise due to different expectations of digitization projects. It is often forgotten to query and compare these in advance to see where the deviations are. This is particularly evident in the different expectations of corporate IT. Often there interests do not steer towards the same goal. Here, for example, external initiators can help to bring a breath of fresh air and new ideas to the teams. With external support, government funds to support digitization initiatives can often be raised more easily and effectively, and tax relief can be claimed.

Part 1 of our webcast series "Are you also dreaming of digitization simply taking place?"

In the expert discussion, Frederic Rouagha ( matchdigital management GmbH ) and Stanislaw Panow ( netcos GmbH ) shed light on your digital journey with regard to conflict potential and conflict resolution.

Hand in hand, the digitization platform matchdigital and the IT analysis methodology itpilot® ensure that small and medium-sized companies in particular make their processes fit for digitization and structure their IT for these requirements and make it future-proof. More about collaboration