Most organizations rely on IT more than they realize. Neil Kinson, Vice President EMEA at Redwood Software discusses why CIOs need to invest in innovative, long-term IT projects to drive business growth
It’s time for companies to take a fresh look at their IT enterprise as an engine for modernization and growth. The more I talk directly to our clients and hear the business benefits they achieve through innovation driven by automation alone, the more I want to shout about it. CIOs shouldn’t be afraid of transforming what they do to achieve their business goals. The economy is improving, and with it, companies must prepare for growth. IT investments made now will pay off handsomely in the very near future.
CIO Insight just ran a story entitled, “What CIOs Should Be Thinking About But Aren’t”. In the article, Michelle Bailey, vice president of datacenter initiatives and digital infrastructure with the analyst firm 451 Research, says:
“The economy is improving, and we’re seeing jobs growth and improvement in the housing market, especially in the U.S., but what we aren’t seeing a return to IT spending. Instead, we are seeing companies hoarding cash and a lot of bloated balance sheets. What we need to see is a return of IT leaders who will swing the balance of the IT project portfolio from maintenance and trimming to innovation and growth.”
I couldn’t agree more with Bailey. For long-term success, CIOs should be looking for ways to reinvest to enhance business value and competitive advantage—not just to cut costs. Many smaller, new start-ups are happy to invest and use their IT enterprise for innovative advantage right away. To stay ahead, larger, more mature organizations need to act now so that they are not playing catch-up later.
Automation = Growth
The IT enterprise triggers and affects almost every activity within a modern organization. While it’s critical that core processes are as efficient and effective as possible, IT is about much more than just short-term gains in efficiency and cost control. Consider what long-term benefits—such as supporting greater value, better service and business growth—can be reinforced by automation alone.
Redwood’s Enterprise Process AutomationTM approach offers consolidation of disparate IT and business processes and innovation. Automation provides the consistency, quality, reliability and scale that supports increased data volume, greater demand, and faster service. Our customers gain more value from their resources by freeing their best people from mundane, repetitious work.
A Fortune 500 industrial supply company in the US that works with thousands of customers to fulfill and ship tens of thousands of orders every day needed to process orders within a 24-hour window. Originally it relied on a complex, manual process for reconciling and processing credit orders as well as ordering materials for sale. This took 36 hours to complete the 1,200-item, 120-interface process. With Redwood automation, it realized a 20% reduction in operating costs and ensures next-day delivery with less effort.
Just imagine where your company could be in five years’ time if you could simultaneously cut operational time and costs, while you enable your staff to accomplish more every day. The right investment right now can make this dream a reality. Take another look at your enterprise now. It’s time to make a real difference.
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