The Importance of Processes
But the business processes that these IT systems are a part of are quite another story. Many large institutions still operate as big, brittle “black boxes” of legacy systems, automation, people and paper, manual handoffs, and outdated infrastructure. Complicating matters, few processes are documented, so few really understand how work gets done today. This can make process transformation – and even implementing a small change – incredibly risk-laden. Even a small process change in another line of business could have catastrophic effects on their downstream processes.
If there’s any doubt about just how complex your organization’s current IT systems and processes are, find out what percentage of your total workforce is comprised of IT professionals – both employees and contractors. In our conversations with customers, it’s not uncommon to hear that IT makes up 30% to 40% of the workforce – and if you dig a little deeper, 70% to 80% of them are just there to maintain the status quo, not to adapt, improve, and create new processes to help your organization compete against digital-first fintechs and insurance technology companies (insurtechs). These industry players routinely launch new products and processes – often on a weekly basis. Why? Because they are innovators who aren’t burdened by legacy systems and complex processes.
Transform Faster and Easier
Competitive pressures aren’t the only reason you need the ability to understand your current processes and gain the ability to transform them faster and easier. According to a new study, “The Transformation Mindset – New Levers for Growth and Efficiency”, conducted by the SAP Insights research center that surveyed senior leaders of 10,500 midsize businesses in 41 countries, banking leaders are preparing to deal with the effects of:
Economic stagnation
Cybersecurity breakdowns
Employment and livelihood crises
Climate change
Infectious diseases
Adverse outcomes of advanced technologies
Global natural resources shortages
Major conflicts between countries
Compete and Win
These are incredibly unpredictable risks. Traditional banks and insurance companies can no longer afford to accept process “brittleness” and fear of process change as just the way things are. You need to gain the ability to make safe, confident, and rapid process changes, whenever and wherever you need. Because if your organization can’t overcome the complexity of its own processes and IT architectures to innovate with speed and excellence, how will your business respond to risks and compete and win?
Want to learn more?
Download the new SAP paper, “Operationalize Continuous Process Transformation in Financial Services and Insurance”. You’ll learn about how business process transformation solutions can help you understand your current processes; redesign, simulate, and optimize new and improved processes; roll them out efficiently; and monitor and improve them over time.