Digital transformation (DX) is at the forefront of many business agendas. It’s essential to how companies organize, share and create value from their content and communications. But that’s not easy when outdated systems, lack of strategy, and poor communications hold organizations back.

To maximize potential in core operating models, organizations must connect business processes, workflows, content and communications for a more streamlined approach.

Content and Communications Overhaul: Pathway to Business Evolution
Gartner describes the evolution of content management into a broader category known as content services. This new trend is illustrated by how companies set priorities and promote business transformation to:

• Engage employees, partners and customers to drive growth through digitalization
• Create new ways to influence business operations along end-to-end processes
• Improve employee experience when interacting with customers
• Enhance information governance across digital channels, mobile workflow, data volume, and regulations (security, privacy, compliance)
• Solutions are also evolving, such as:
• Web content management for customer engagement now morphing into digital experience
• Enterprise file sync and share quickly transforming to content collaboration platforms
• Enterprise content management (ECM) content evolving into content services

None of these platforms solve the issue of building a streamlined process in its entirety. The route to holistic business transformation depends on the integration of all solutions and processes — from improving employee and customer experience to enhancing information governance. As the saying goes, “you’re only as strong as your weakest link,” and in digital transformation, every link matters.

Where to Streamline Content and Communications
Where it’s crucial to sync back-end processes with front-end customer engagement, redesigns of content, communications and workflow increase productivity and enhance customer experience (CX). This is where robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning create differentiation through more efficient operations.

Many vertical industry processes need end-to-end solutions. For instance, when the research process in life sciences relies on outdated platforms, it hinders team productivity and jeopardizes collaboration across the wider ecosystem, specifically in record management and data compliance. Claims processes in insurance also fall victim, when legacy systems create poor communication and documentation, causing gaps in how clients engage.

In manufacturing, processes should be structured to decrease reaction time or downtime and improve service delivery by accelerating information sharing between teams and systems. This is especially true for production information management, field service activities, and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO).

In retail, supply chain management is imperative to reduce labour costs, streamline invoice reconciliation and improve fill rates. So, there’s no room for a costly, error-ridden inventory management system. In retail banking, process efficiency affects compliance and records management. It’s crucial to automate document retention and disposition for consistency and gather compliance and audit information to satisfy internal and external standards.

In horizontal business processes, specifically customer communications, a streamlined approach improves everything from content creation to delivery, storage and retrieval. The same goes for marketing communications, demand generation campaigns, invoice notifications, accounts payable processing, and customer service activities.

For each process, whether it’s internal operations or customer-facing activities, better-managed content, communications and workflows create end-to-end efficiency. The challenge is superseding a legacy structure that uses dozens of systems and assets scattered across silos, and processes that are disconnected and unsecure.