A guide to digitalisation projects – what to do and what not to do?

Digitalisation is no longer a matter of choice, but a necessity. Yet the vast majority of projects end in failure. Sándor Mester, host of the IT Business podcast, and András Tresch, managing director of Quattrosoft, explored the reasons for this over the course of three episodes. Below, we summarise the key takeaways from the final episode – with specific figures, real-life experiences and no beating about the bush.

The episode was recorded on 10 February 2022.

In 2021, András Tresch’s team conducted research amongst large companies employing a total of more than 50,000 staff. Only 26 per cent said that their existing digitalisation solutions more or less met their business needs. This is in line with international experience – even the most optimistic experts estimate that the proportion of successful digitalisation projects does not exceed 30 per cent.

Think about it: seven out of ten projects fail to deliver the promised results. This isn’t a technological problem.

This is perhaps the most important message in the whole series. When IT leads a digitalisation project, the chances of failure increase dramatically.

It is not because the IT team lacks competence, but because digitalisation is a business decision, not a technological one. It is pointless for the CIO to spearhead the digital revolution if the business units are not motivated and do not feel that the change is their own.

András Tresch puts it bluntly: “If there’s no business commitment, it won’t work.” He knows of banks where management fobs people off by saying they’re performing well – so why should they do anything differently? Then, when a problem arises (e.g. regulatory compliance), a solution is needed immediately. And, of course, IT will be blamed for not having it ready.

The CIO’s true role is not to manage projects, but to strengthen integration, promote simplification and ensure transparency. This in itself is a huge task.

Based on Quattrosoft’s 25 years of experience, successful digitalisation requires close collaboration between three types of system: document management (DMS), business process management (BPM) and physical records management.

According to the research, the average large company runs two different document management systems in parallel. Integration between the three components (DMS, BPM, archive) is non-existent in 38 per cent of companies and barely present in 48 per cent. Truly integrated operation – which is essential for achieving real results – is virtually non-existent.

When these systems operate in isolation, it’s like trying to navigate using three different maps at the same time. You know what you need to do, but you spend one or two hours a day searching for the information you need to get the job done. Or, conversely, you have all the documents you need, but you’ve no idea what the next step is.

The real breakthrough comes when staff can see the task, all the related data, documents and background information on a single screen. Everything is accessible at the touch of a button. Automation can then be built on top of this, delivering a 2–2.5-fold increase in efficiency rather than just 10–15 per cent.

Another startling finding from the research: 40 per cent of those surveyed said they had no KPIs – they are unable to measure the efficiency of their work.

At the same time, only 20 per cent said that working from home posed a problem in terms of efficiency. Can we see the contradiction here? If you don’t measure it, how do you know there isn’t a problem?

András Tresch gives an example from a large corporation: “I’ve seen a company where the managers said that people couldn’t work from home. They had to be in the office, because if I can see their face on the screen, I’m more likely to believe they’re actually working.” This “I can see them, so they’re working” mentality is a typical sign of a lack of metrics.

The irony of the situation is that as soon as you start measuring, the results improve almost of their own accord. This isn’t magic – it’s simply that people’s behaviour changes when they know their performance is being monitored. Research shows an immediate improvement of 10–15 per cent simply as a result of introducing some form of measurement.

The interview touches on a current trend: low-code/no-code development, where we are “democratising IT” and users build systems themselves.

András Tresch makes no secret of his opinion: “I’ve got a niggling feeling that this is going to be the IT 3.0 version of ‘Shadow’.”

If large companies are already running an average of two document management systems in parallel, just imagine what happens when anyone can put together any sort of application. The CIO, who is currently working to consolidate existing systems, is faced with yet another wave of fragmentation.

The most important lesson from the last 25 years, in a single sentence? You have to start small.

What is needed is not a mega-project that replaces and solves everything, but rather to try out the fully integrated solution – with document management, process support and records management closely interlinked – within a small business unit.

Why does this work?

A small project means low risk. If there are teething problems between the supplier and the client – and there always are – they are easier to resolve when the stakes are low. Positions do not become entrenched, because there aren’t hundreds of millions at stake.

Quattrosoft’s longest-standing client relationship spans 21 years. They adopted this approach when working with two major German multinational clients. The result: a constantly evolving partnership that is valuable to both parties, in which the client itself has learnt what is worth spending money on and what is not.

András Tresch is also familiar with the opposite of a ‘giga-project’: “When someone wants to commission the entire universe, they don’t even know what they want themselves, but we’re the ones who have to set a deadline and a budget. I don’t see that as the right way forward.”

In a digitisation project, two parties work together, and the relationship lasts for years. In Quattrosoft’s 25-year history, there has only been one occasion when the collaboration had to be terminated because the partnership was no longer sustainable.

Let’s look at the figures that show why this is all worth it. According to Gartner, the average employee spends 50–80 minutes a day searching for information. That’s 10–15 per cent of their working time. If the system automatically provides this information on a plate, that’s an immediate saving.

But the real game-changer is automation. “If we can double the efficiency of 500 administrative staff, and the monthly wage cost per person is at least 500,000 forints, that amounts to monthly savings of 250 million forints.”

Quattrosoft’s clients typically see a return on investment within 12 months. This requires an integrated system – not stand-alone solutions.

Digitalisation is not an IT project. It is a business decision with technological implications. Start small, measure the results, and choose a partner with whom you’ll still be happy to sit down at the same table in twenty years’ time – and the results will follow.