In private life, we’re used to operating in a digital environment. But when it comes to business, there is still a lot of uncertainty or even fear towards new technologies and digitalization of business processes. Can I rely on the data being correct and secured? How can I know where the numbers come from? Should I still use pen and paper to check the numbers?

As we all know, the past two years have been extraordinary and challenging for several industries, organizations, and individuals. But is the fear of the new and unknown preventing us from taking action and modernizing our processes and ways of working? As a business leader, have you considered what will happen if you just continue with everything as-is? 

According to Forrester Predictions 2023: Fortune Favors The Bold And Focused:

• In 2023, smart business leaders will get focused — pruning efforts that aren’t bearing fruit and prioritizing long-term growth.

• Trust will be at the forefront of business priorities in 2023.

• The interlocking market dynamics of 2023 will require business leaders to stay true to a long-term strategic vision while operating within unknown territory. 

Business innovation is necessary for survival today

Since 2000, 52% of companies in the Fortune 500 have gone out of business, primarily because of digital disruptions. The ones that will survive and win are the ones that can drive change now, tackling three common yet critical issues:

1️⃣ New business models
You need to develop new business models to avoid disruption in your industry. The introduction of new business models allows to create new revenue streams. If you don’t succeed here, your business can plateau as innovative companies bring new ideas, disrupting your industry and ultimately your company.

2️⃣ New operational efficiencies
You must drive efficiencies to reinvest into your growth. By taking advantage of new technologies for process automation – such as artificial intelligence (AI) – and innovation, you can gain a competitive advantage over your competitors.

3️⃣ Modernize without disruption
You have to transform your mission-critical systems without interruption. The cost of IT downtime for an average Fortune 1000 enterprise is already high and increasing as digital transformation efforts pressure organizations to deliver ‘always on’ services.

The benefit of modern cloud-based ERPs delivered by a trusted partner 

The business technology transformation often means renewal of your core business systems, processes and ways of working. Modern cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions have built-in capabilities for you to take the lead in your industry – with the help of a trusted service provider and a business-driven cloud mindset.

Modern cloud ERPs like SAP S/4HANA Cloud enable you to: 

⛅ Create innovative business models at global scale
Open new sources of growth by easily transitioning from product-based to service-based businesses. Dynamically adapt to changes based on real-time usage and customer experience data.

⛅ Benefit from proven business processes for your industry
Work better together with instant and personalized business insight available from anywhere. Continuously improve margins with intelligent automation across your end-to-end operational processes​.

⛅ Build sustainability directly into your business
Adapt operations and processes to consistently reduce emissions, waste, and environmental impact​. Proactively manage regulatory requirements with company-wide controls and in-depth reporting.

⛅ Bring your business wherever it needs to go
Stay on top of compliance and security with global standards built-in that are always up to date. Keep innovating with a scalable platform and network of partners continuously bringing new value.

Relying on a trusted service provider like Vincit gives you the following benefits:

🤝 Industry knowledge
A trusted partner understands the business logic in your industry, speaks the same language and has insights for industry best practices.

🤝 A business-driven approach
Knowledge of core business functions should include sales, procurement, production, project management, HR and finance. Experience with how those functions and ways of working will be impacted when renewing end-to-end processes is key – as is understanding how to run profitable business and how to ensure the customer organization is actively involved in the renewal journey from the very beginning.

🤝 A comprehensive modern technology skillset
Experienced professionals know what it means to lead and manage a business technology transformation journey and how to design, build and run new cloud-based business solutions like SAP S/4HANA Cloud with embedded tools and best practices for your business. A trusted partner can also provide other complementary solutions and services like integration platform services, analytics and commerce solutions to serve your business needs in a holistic manner.

Having a business-driven cloud mindset means:

💡 Business ownership
Your business owns the business technology renewal process and the new solutions like ERPs because you run your business with the selected tools. You should take a proactive role in the business technology renewal process in the planning and in the execution phase. You also need an open mindset and willingness to learn new ways of doing your business with modern technology.

💡 Value-based technology renewal
You should start the renewal process by identifying your business targets based on strategy and then evaluate suitable technology solutions for your needs. Understanding your key differentiator in your industry will help you to focus on the right things and prioritize renewal items – the ones that need to be done right now and the less important ones that can be done at a later stage. It also helps to understand where you need something designed just for your business and where modern technology standards are enough.

💡 Trusting in best practices
Global cloud based business solutions like SAP S/4HANA Cloud have proven industry best practices and preconfigured end-to-end business scenarios ready for you. You can speed up your renewal journey by adapting your current ways of working and as-is processes to ones provided as standards by modern business solutions. You benefit from industry best practices and new innovations like AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and machine learning (ML) without any extra costs as the systems already have these capabilities and are updated with both technical and business improvements on a regular basis. When you stick to standards and utilize the extension and integration tools either built-in or designed to work side-by-side with your core solution you can run your business without technical disruptions and keep your IT costs low.

Are you interested in learning more about how to future-proof your business with modern digital tools?

📧 Contact me by email or call me at +358 50 549 6598 to discuss more. 

📅 Learn more about how SAP and Vincit with S/4HANA Cloud can ensure competitiveness in a changing market. Join our webinar on March 8th, 2023 14:00-15:00 EET.

Sari Mikkonen works at Vincit Oyj as Business Development Director. Sari is an experienced business leader with a comprehensive understanding of business processes, cloud-based business solutions and the typical challenges growth companies face. Her passion is to help medium-size organizations to grow profitably with modern business technology solutions and related services. She also wants to make better Mondays for us all with a can-do attitude and business-driven approach.