Even though digital information is evolving rapidly, the world remains fundamentally document-centric. Documents whether created by humans or generated by machines, are foundational to every operation, communication exchange, and innovation within the Intelligent and Connected Enterprise. Notably, a Deloitte analysis reveals that 81% of respondents view productivity as the primary measure of digital transformation ROI. Moreover, organizations adopting a more holistic approach are 20% more likely to attribute medium-to-high enterprise value to their digital transformations. This underscores the importance of embracing diverse document formats and access methods as digital ecosystems continue to evolve.
Managing Diverse Business Documents
Consider all the business documents that need to be managed, from invoices, payments, contracts, waybills, and orders, to their varying formats: video, voice, JPGs, smartphone images, PDFs, and more. These diverse formats represent the breadth of modern business needs, from administrative processes to real-time communications. As technology progresses, these documents increasingly interact with complex systems like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), AutoCAD, and XML.
The dynamics surrounding many documents are changing, impacted by their context. Even though the lifecycle of a contract or transaction has shifted considerably, in many cases, data is still captured in the form of a document. This digital transformation has created new challenges and opportunities in document management pushing enterprises to rethink how they handle everything from customer agreements to product specs.
Unlocking the Value of Business Information
The vast majority of business information relates to employees, customers, suppliers, assets, and products. But, for this information to provide business value, the Intelligent and Connected Enterprise must be able to engage with it in meaningful ways to uncover insights. It’s no longer enough to simply collect data enterprises must extract value from this information to remain competitive.
To help businesses connect with their information and unlock its potential, regardless of whether it resides behind the firewall or in the cloud, OpenText is continually developing information-based enterprise applications. These include departmental applications like accounts payable, case management, and invoice management; industry-specific applications like claims processing and regulated documents; as well as real-time applications for supply chains.
Real-Time Data Access: The Foundation for Better Decision-Making
These applications provide the Intelligent and Connected Enterprise with real-time access to information that has been enriched with analytics and AI. With the right, intelligence-infused information, users can make informed decisions. That same information can also be used to identify new opportunities, such as ways to optimize processes, improve products or services, or monetize data for new revenue streams.
AI’s Expanding Role in the Enterprise
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a future concept; it’s already transforming enterprises across industries. A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value revealed that 81% of executives and 96% of their teams are already using AI to a moderate or significant extent. This highlights the growing dependence on AI for operational efficiency and strategic decision-making.
Looking ahead, companies are planning to allocate an average of 3.32% of their revenue to AI by 2025, which translates to approximately $33.2 million annually for a $1 billion company. This substantial investment will extend AI’s reach beyond traditional IT functions, encompassing areas like customer service, supply chain operations, and talent acquisition, further demonstrating its role in driving business innovation and growth.
However, to fully harness AI’s capabilities, addressing data quality and ensuring seamless integration with enterprise systems are crucial. Clean, accessible information forms the backbone of effective AI implementation, transforming siloed systems into sources of actionable insights that drive better decisions. As noted in a recent article by Forbes, addressing data quality and integration issues can turn messy, siloed systems into sources for actionable insights that drive better decisions. Vendors like SAP, Databricks, Informatica, and Cloudera offer integrated solutions that create unified data views, improve collaboration, reduce errors, and prepare data for advanced analytics.
Why Digitizing Information-Intensive Processes Matters
The benefits of digitizing information-intensive processes are numerous. Costs can be reduced by up to 90%. Errors can be minimized. New channels and routes to customers can be leveraged. Replacing manual paper-based processes with digitized workflows allows businesses to collect real-time data to better understand process performance, costs, and risk factors. This is where ERP has been so critical for enterprises: it provides a process advantage, enabling faster, smarter decision-making.
- The ERP market is expected to continue to see rapid growth, with forecasts showing it will rise to $96 billion by 2032.
When processes and data are fully integrated, analytics and AI can be applied to add value across the enterprise. Enterprise Information Management (EIM) combines processes and information to deliver the Information Advantage that organizations need to thrive in a fast-paced digital world.
The Role of Data Lakes in Modern Information Management
Investing in the necessary technologies (like analytics and AI) and infrastructure will help organizations capitalize on the Information Advantage. This requires creating data lakes rather than relying on traditional data warehouses. In data warehouses, information is stored in large repositories or folder formats, whereas in data lakes, information is kept in its raw form. This approach allows for more dynamic and quicker analysis as computing, chipsets, real-time streaming, and data pipelines evolve.
Data lakes include information from every connected device, and this data both structured and unstructured—can be remotely connected to an IoT platform. Organizations can leverage this information in various ways to drive IoT-enabled processes and improve operational visibility. Deciding which systems and devices need to be connected to the IoT platform, what type of information needs to be obtained, and which transactions to measure will determine the type of analysis and reporting required.
Edge Analytics: A Vital Component for Data Efficiency
It is unsustainable for organizations to retain vast amounts of data from every connected device over long periods. By deploying edge analytics (analytics conducted at the device or network point level) aligned with information governance policies, organizations can identify and preserve data with long-term strategic value. Edge analytics reduces the need for large-scale data storage, ensuring only the most relevant and critical data is maintained. This can significantly decrease operational costs while improving the decision-making process in real-time.
Integrating with the Digital Ecosystem
To unlock the Information Advantage, the Intelligent and Connected Enterprise will plug into its customers’ digital ecosystems. It will integrate technologies that enhance automation such as machine-to-machine communications, the IoT, AI, and analytics—with legacy IT infrastructure, standardize its data across systems, and create dynamic, flexible processes to support new technologies and devices.
Future-Proofing the Enterprise: The Role of AI and Automation
Looking ahead, enterprises must continue to evolve and future-proof their operations by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into their data management strategies. As the volume and complexity of data increase, AI can offer the predictive capabilities needed to improve decision-making and enhance operational efficiency. Automation will play a critical role in streamlining processes and eliminating human errors, while AI will further enhance the analysis of massive datasets. This combination of technologies can help businesses not only meet current needs but also anticipate future challenges, allowing them to stay ahead of the curve.
The Future of Information Management: Embracing a Unified Digital Strategy
As the digital world continues to evolve, businesses must focus on integrating new technologies seamlessly into their operations. The future of business will not simply be about data management but about creating interconnected systems where information flows effortlessly across platforms. Whether it’s using AI to derive insights or integrating IoT devices for smarter data capture, businesses that can effectively manage their information assets will be better positioned to thrive in the digital economy.
What benefits have you experienced as a result of digitizing information-intensive processes? Are you leveraging analytics or AI to uncover insights in your organization?
By Randy Ferguson