Digitalization scorecard: 5 questions to rate your digital maturity

Kick off the new year with a digital review. How digital is your business? Are you working on standardizing your information management processes, or are you already in the process automation stage? A digital agenda can help you define the next steps to implement based on your current level of digitalization.

Experts grade businesses on their level of digitization – from fully analog to fully digital.  These days, no business – not even the local mom-and-pop shop – operates entirely without IT support. From computer-assisted work in separate departments to a fully automated business, there is a wide spectrum when it comes to digitalization levels. One thing is certain: Companies that have already digitized their business processes are significantly faster when it comes to developing new business models, customizing products more efficiently, and supporting potential customers at every step of their customer journey. A recent study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that these differences are growing. Some 700 survey respondents from Germany and the US were asked to assess the digital maturity of their companies. The key findings: One quarter of these companies are already well advanced and can consider themselves among the business leaders. Another quarter of the companies are at risk of being permanently left behind due to their low rates of digitization.

How comprehensively is digitalization implemented in your company? How many processes are IT-supported but still run manually? How much paper is used? How many processes are entirely automated? One important milestone in the digital transformation of a business is the roll-out of an integrated information and process management system. Digital business models and collaborative ecosystems are built on a solid basis of information and data, automated processes and secure solutions that enable a company to interact with its customers, suppliers and partners.

1. Does your company have a cross-departmental information management system?
2. Are there information silos in your organization that could be removed or connected with each other?
3. How comprehensively digital are the business processes in your company?
4. Are there digital processes for collaboration and information exchange with customers, partners and suppliers?
5. Can employees access business processes remotely or do your digital processes stop at the organizational boundary?

Determine your company’s concrete needs for action and create your digital agenda. When the entire business is truly digital, your organization will be empowered and competitive. With a comprehensive digitalization strategy, you’ll provide the backbone for the digital transformation of your business.