By Riaan Bekker, Force Solutions Manager at thryve
I have a confession to make. Until the pandemic arrived, some of the claims around digital technology remained vague. We could clearly see the results from successful transformations, but there was also still enough scepticism and unanswered questions to cause some doubt around digital transformation. After all, computer systems have been making an impact on companies for decades already. Why is this current trend more important than past events, and can you really justify the urgency behind the change?
The answer for both turned out to be ‘yes’. Even though we could show through anecdotes and case studies that modern cloud-powered digital technologies deliver on their promises, responses to the pandemic have put any doubts to rest. Whether it’s the switch to remote workforces, a clearer view of the future through analytics, or making your organisation more efficient during tough times, digital technologies are rising to every challenge.
But the pandemic has also created an uncomfortable problem: many companies have under-invested in digital transformation or abandoned such projects. Now there is a very acute need to introduce these technologies, yet companies are stuck between the rock of urgency and the hard place of uncertain costs. We can agree that transformation is necessary, but can that payout match the current risks to the business?
The answer is again ‘yes’. One benefit of the pandemic is, like any crisis, it reveals the real priorities in a company. Those priorities can serve to realise digital transformation quickly – the primary reason why past transformation projects have failed is that they tried to do too much or tried to transform without clearly-defined outcomes to guide them. In the current atmosphere, those are much easier to identify.
Combine such priorities with an appropriate cloud service, as well as an experienced business technology provider, and you have the perfect combination of factors for a successful transformation. The latter point – an experienced provider such as thryve – is almost self-evident, because we align the technology and your priorities.
The former, a cloud platform, is instrumental for unencumbered deployment at any scale. You can focus your implementation on any size and scope, perhaps to solve a particular challenge, then expand and refocus as you become more familiar with the cloud solution’s potential. All of this is underpinned by an OPEX transaction model that is easy to predict and manage.
The combination of these factors enable digital transformation and realise ROI quickly at the same time. A service such as Salesforce Financial Services Cloud (FSC) can tackle many different outcomes in nuanced ways without the cost bloat associated with bespoke systems. FSC, for example, delivers between 10% and 50% ROI around growing revenue or income, or between 10% and 60% ROI for improved lead conversion.
FSC can serve internal requirements as well as improve customer engagements. The ROI from reduced client service request resolution time reaches 70%, and increased account executive productivity can yield 60% ROI.
Solutions can be very vertical-specific – at thryve, we cater across risk management, financial services, insurance, banking and retail clients, yet can offer each precisely what they need. thryve’s excellent professionals deserve some of the credit. But I cannot overstate how profoundly modern technology has lowered the barriers of cost and deployment.
If you haven’t sufficiently transformed your business yet with these new technologies, there has not been a better time. The value of doing so is very clear, the priorities you want to tackle are more prominent, and the nature of new technology is very accommodating and flexible. A solution such as Salesforce Financial Services Cloud can address many of your pain points and concerns, and you can start seeing value almost immediately.