Digital transformation as part of the Leasing Forum 2015

On September 10, 2015, the Association of Austrian Leasing Companies (VÖL) invited its members to the annual Leasing Forum with specialist seminars and presentations on the topic of leasing and a joint golf event. afb Application Services AG (afb) was delighted to accept the invitation to give a presentation.

Enrico Moritz, Manager Business Development and Consulting at afb, presented practical insights into the central fields of action of digital transformation in a specialist seminar entitled "Mastering digital transformation together at eye level".

Digitalization starts in the mind

"Digital isn't software! It's a mindset", is a quote from Aaron Dignan, a well-known digital strategist who advises a large number of Fortune 100 companies. This quote illustrates the change in thinking that is necessary to successfully implement a digital strategy in companies. Digital transformation stands for a continuous change in business models, operating processes and customer interaction in connection with new information and communication technologies. Digitalization is therefore a concrete process that must be initiated within the company. In other words, digitalization does not work at the push of a button and is not a one-off initiative. This is also one of the main reasons why many banks struggle to implement it.

Key areas of action for the digital strategy

According to Mr. Moritz, the findings from current studies on the topic of digital transformation coincide with the experience of afb's consulting team at a large number of companies in the financial sector. The aspects of digital transformation can be divided into four fields of action:

• IT transformation
• Business model adaptation
• Omni-channel presence
• Process digitization

In the IT transformation field of action, the consulting team repeatedly encounters very complex system landscapes with redundant processes, contradictory data and a large number of interfaces and media disruptions. The focus here should be on developing solution concepts for optimizing the business process architecture and creating an integrated and flexible business structure. This is a prerequisite for rapid business model adjustments in response to social changes and changes in customer behavior, such as the move away from ownership towards usage and the spread of mobility concepts. Another field of action relates to omni-channel presence and the use of big data. Tailor-made offers instead of a scattergun approach are the challenges facing banks in order to address customers with the right mix and respond to the changes in customers' digital behavior. There is also great potential for optimization in the areas of process digitalization and document management. Almost every company today still has processes that are heavily burdened with paper. New technologies offer great potential for digitization here and can significantly increase processing speed.

Only companies that can adapt their product portfolio to customer needs, keep their processes flexible, adapt quickly and digitize in parallel will be successful in the future.

Industry expertise and methods for success

Consultancy approaches for the complete digitalization of business models are currently in high demand at afb. A strategic realignment requires a holistic and comprehensive view of digital initiatives. It is important to find out fundamentally what influence digital technologies have on the company's goals.

afb's team of consultants not only has the methodological tools to competently advise the financial sector on digital strategy, but also in-depth industry knowledge based on decades of experience in the implementation of customer projects and the necessary know-how regarding current technologies.