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In an increasingly digital world, it’s critical for business leaders to explore digital transformation, or the creation and modification of business processes, culture and customer experiences, to meet changing business and market demands. But where to start?
The July 2022 episode of the Arizona Technology Council’s AZTechCast podcast featured experts including Kristen Harder, digital marketing manager at ZorroSign, Steve Irons, president of DocSolid; and Tiffany Ma, senior solution consultant at OneStream Software. These leaders joined Karen Nowicki, president and owner of Phoenix Business RadioX, and Steve Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, in discussing the innovative technology solutions that are helping companies reimagine their operational workflows.
Throughout this hour-long episode, this panel of startup experts spoke about why it’s extremely important for companies to explore digital transformation to not only become more efficient, but to future-proof their continued growth and success. All three speakers agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic played a pivotal role in accelerating the switch from paper and pencil record-keeping to the implementation of digital solutions, like the ones each of their companies offer.
ZorroSign offers digital signature options built on blockchain for maximum privacy and security. As Kristen explained, blockchain is a decentralized database which enables information to be stored in blocks of data chained together. If one block of data is affected or compromised in some way, it is much easier to detect the threat, understand which blocks of data were affected and prevent the threat from infiltrating other blocks of data. This is especially important for the wide range of customers that ZorroSign works with, like the finance industry, law firms, real estate companies and information technology companies. In fact, entire industries were enabled to stay productive and secure throughout the pandemic because of the digital signature options that ZorroSign offers. From Kristen’s perspective, most of their clients were motivated to consider this step towards digital transformation because of the cost savings and reduced carbon footprint.
DocSolid was actually created in the midst of the pandemic as “big law” was struggling to let go of their printed papers in favor of digitization. Steve’s mindset? “Never waste a good crisis”. He leveraged the pandemic as an opportunity to push the digitally-resistant attorney population towards his software which scans documents, identifies the intended recipient, sends a notification to the appropriate “matter team” (or clerical staff) and integrates seamlessly with each law firm’s document management software. Since the vast majority of documents being circulated through the software is highly sensitive and private in nature, the software had to be developed with security in mind. In Steve’s mind, adoption is the biggest barrier for companies considering digital solutions – both sides of the transaction have to agree on the system that will carry the transaction forward. Another big barrier is governance – though well intentioned, there is a constant certification/approval process being conducted by internal security teams and external government officials that can require a lot of effort, time and money to keep up with.
To Tiffany, digital transformation is more than a behavioral change – it is also a process change. In the world of finance, digitization through OneStream Software means evolving from old-school, inefficient and laborious tools like spreadsheets to more streamlined and real-time reports that can better help business leaders make informed decisions. It also means automating time-consuming tasks and freeing up hours of work for financial analysts who were previously collecting data and creating reports to now analyze that data or model out scenarios to adapt to changing times. Rather than being siloed, these analysts can be more strategically involved in comparing key metrics, monitoring financial signaling (or the continuous pulse of everyday activity) and help leadership navigate a higher level of business agility. She did mention that oftentimes people are resistant to change and scared that this level of automation may cause them to lose their jobs.
Digital transformation is not just a simple project, but a total transformation of behavior, process and outcome. But each speaker agreed that the risk is worth the reward when considering the benefits that digitization can bring to your organization in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, connectedness, decreased costs, more involved and motivated employees and decreased environmental impact. Watch the replay below for more insight on this engaging conversation!
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KRISTEN HARDER |
STEVE IRONS |
TIFFANY MA |
About AZTechCast
The official podcast of the Arizona Technology Council, AZTechCast is dedicated to covering innovation and technology in Arizona and beyond. Through the art of the connected conversation, AZ TechCast’s hosts and guests share success stories, tech news and analysis about the region’s leading startups, companies and emerging technologies, as well as the latest industry trends and critical issues propelling Arizona’s growing technology ecosystem. Visit www.aztechcouncil.org/techcast to learn more or to listen to recent episodes.
About Phoenix Business RadioX
Karen Nowicki is the owner and president of Phoenix Business RadioX. Amplifying the voice of business, Phoenix Business RadioX helps local businesses and professional associations get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, profession and community. A successful author, speaker and the creator of Deep Impact Leadership™ and SoulMarks Coaching™, Nowicki is a two-time recipient of the prestigious national Choice Award® for her book and personal development retreat. In addition, Nowicki has been an expert guest on regional TV and radio shows, including Fox Phoenix Morning Show, Sonoran Living, Good Morning Arizona, The Chat Room and Mid-Day Arizona. Recognized for her leadership and business acumen, she has been a regular contributor to many print and online magazines – publishing articles and blogs for business and education.