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The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Tech taxes: the real cost of being missold ‘digital transformation'
Symphony Commerce is a Business Reporter client Big promises, broken systems, and hidden tech taxes of buying 'digital transformation' tools that didn't deliver? Here's your escape plan. You said yes to the pitch. The demo was slick. The sales deck promised transformation. But six months later, no one's using it – or worse, your teams are actively working around it. Sound familiar? You're not alone. A recent survey revealed that nearly 60 per cent of companies regret at least one software purchase made in the past 12 to 18 months. Over half reported significant financial setbacks due to these decisions, and two in five felt that a poor software choice reduced their competitiveness. But here's the kicker: you didn't make a bad decision. You were missold the dream. Under pressure to modernise and stay ahead, most leaders fall into the same trap: chasing software instead of strategy, features instead of fit. It's time we stopped beating ourselves up for making the wrong tech choices and started asking better questions. How it happens – again and again The mistake isn't in choosing the wrong tool. It's in being told a tool alone will change anything. Most tech regret follows the same pattern: a team identifies a pain point, finds a promising platform, gets excited by the promise of automation or AI or integration – and pulls the trigger. What doesn't happen? Deep alignment. Cross-functional planning. A cold, hard look at whether the tool fits the bigger picture. So, the new system is rolled out. Training is patchy. Internal champions aren't fully on board. The data doesn't sync quite right. Reports are harder to pull than expected. Before long, the platform becomes just another login in the stack – or worse, a barrier teams have to work around. It's no wonder. Leaders are making decisions under huge pressure. Pressure to innovate. To digitise. To not fall behind competitors. When transformation becomes a breathless race, it's easy to reach for the fastest-looking solution. But chasing transformation piecemeal – one app, one dashboard, one feature at a time – often creates more complexity than it actually solves. Disconnected tools lead to duplicated effort. Quick wins become long-term liabilities. And somewhere along the way, the whole organisation starts to feel… tired. Tired of workarounds. Tired of workaround tools for the workarounds. Tired of hearing 'we're transforming' while nothing really changes. And that costs. A lot. The (not so) hidden costs of poor tech decisions When technology investments falter, the consequences extend far beyond the initial financial outlay. A 2024 study by WalkMe revealed that companies lost an average of $104 million (around £77 million) to ineffective software adoption, inefficient workflows and failed IT initiatives. Moreover, a global study found that 58 per cent of business leaders report their companies use inaccurate data for significant decisions, and 65 per cent believe no one in their organisation fully understands the data collected or how to access it. These issues contribute to a broader problem: 70 per cent of digital transformation projects fail to meet their stated goals, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities. As sociologist William Bruce Cameron once said, 'Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.' In the context of that (now somewhat ancient) buzzterm 'digital transformation', this underscores the importance of looking beyond the glittering prizes to the real jackpot: aligning technology investments with strategic objectives and ensuring that data quality and user adoption are prioritised. To make this actually happen, organisations should adopt a holistic approach to technology implementation, focusing on user engagement, data integrity and alignment with business goals. That's what is really meant by 'digital transformation'. So how do you get there? The real questions you need to ask before you buy When you're faced with a slick pitch, an exciting demo or a new 'must-have' feature, there's one question that should cut through the noise: Does this system actually fit our business? That doesn't mean: Does it integrate? Most tools claim they do. Does it look intuitive? That's what demos are built for. Does it solve the immediate pain point? Quick wins often lead to long-term complexity. The deeper (and often more painful) follow-up to consider is: will this support the way we price, fulfil, serve, and grow? Or will we need to bend our business to suit the tool? Because that's where things break. Most technology isn't built for your unique workflows. It's designed for generic use cases – the 'average' business, the 'standard' team. The more complex or cross-functional your business is, the faster those assumptions fall apart. The result? Teams build workarounds. Managers lose visibility. Data becomes siloed and incomplete. Innovation slows as every tweak becomes a risk. So before you buy, here's what you need to ask: Will this adapt to our processes - or demand we adapt to it? Will our teams use it naturally - or tolerate it reluctantly? Can it scale with our ambitions - or will it lock us in? The best platforms aren't the flashiest. They're the ones that quietly enable speed, alignment and growth – because they work with you, not against you. And that's born from communication. Genuine transformation partners do not offer one-size-fits all 'solutions'. They get to know your goals and blockers first. The resulting platform should be invisible and intelligent – stitched into every function, enabling your business to grow without dictating how it operates. If the provider you're looking at offers something 'bespoke' but doesn't tangibly show you how they'll supercharge both your front-end and back-end ambitions coherently, walk away. Fast. Transformation isn't about bolting on. It's about building outwards from a foundation that fits. The good news? There is a path through the transformation junkyard. And it starts by flipping the script: stop treating tech as a patch and start designing platforms as ecosystems. Stop chasing features and start solving problems Real transformation doesn't begin with the next big feature. It begins with a smarter foundation. Before you greenlight another piece of technology, take a step back and consider something that sounds obvious but rarely gets enough attention: What's the real problem we're trying to solve? Too often, businesses invest in new tools not because they're the right fit but because they're the most visible, the most hyped or the easiest to say yes to. The demo dazzles. The feature list checks out. A competitor just signed up. But here's the truth: real transformation isn't driven by features. It's driven by clarity. And clarity is hard. It means resisting the urge to act fast. It means challenging the biases that cloud big decisions – fear of missing out, loss aversion, the sunk cost of legacy tech. It means asking uncomfortable questions such as: Are we solving the root problem, or just soothing the symptoms? Will this new system simplify, or just add another layer of admin? Does it fit how we actually work, or how the vendor thinks we should? According to McKinsey, businesses with fragmented tech stacks are nearly three times more likely to miss their digital transformation goals. And Gartner reports that around half of new tech investments fail to deliver expected value, largely due to poor integration and misalignment with business needs. These aren't anomalies, they're the all-too-common crushing results of a business mindset problem. One where buying tech is seen as progress, and slowing down to ask why feels like falling behind. At Symphony Commerce, we help businesses shift that mindset. We start with strategy, not software. We look at how you price, sell, fulfil and grow and we build around your business logic, not force you to rewrite it. After all, the most powerful shift a business can make isn't technical, it's mental. It's the decision to stop reacting, start rebuilding and finally escape the tools that have been holding you back. Freedom from the tech tax starts with asking better questions. Avoid the tech tax: get your free Digital Commerce Decision Maker's Kit. Your no-nonsense pack to achieving true e-commerce freedom – tried and tested tools to help you escape tech sprawl, spot the real blockers and forge a better path with confidence
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Digital transformation in document management: Challenges, risks and solutions
Synertec is a Business Reporter client 'Digital transformation' is a phrase heard in nearly every boardroom today. Technology vendors celebrate it, while organisations declare themselves transformed. But in the world of document management and communications – where real business operations meet complex compliance needs – how much transformation has truly taken place? Many organisations have taken meaningful steps forward. Systems have been upgraded, workflows partially digitised and paper use reduced. These are all valid achievements, and they should be acknowledged. But in many cases, the journey is incomplete. Behind the scenes, manual processes persist. Communications remain fragmented, and critical customer needs – such as accessibility, preferences or timeliness – are often underserved. The reality is that digital transformation in document management is still evolving. It is not a one-time project or a tick-box exercise. It is a strategic shift that requires clarity of purpose, sustained effort and expert support. The complexity behind the change One of the biggest myths about digital transformation is that it can be solved with a single software implementation. In practice, transformation is highly contextual. Each market – be it financial services, local government or healthcare – has unique challenges that demand tailored approaches. For example, the Consumer Duty framework is pushing financial services firms to rethink the clarity and fairness of their communications. In the public sector, regulations on accessible information mean documents must be provided in the right format for every citizen. Across all sectors, the shift towards individual communication preferences and faster payment cycles adds further pressure. These aren't IT problems. They are strategic business issues that touch on customer experience, cost management and operational resilience. A clear objective, supported by the right solution and expertise, is critical. The risk of minimal change So, what happens when organisations adopt a minimalist approach – ticking boxes to satisfy internal KPIs but avoiding deeper change? Put simply, they are taking a high-risk gamble. Failing to address inefficiencies in document processes can result in broken customer journeys, rising operational costs and poor decision-making due to inaccessible or inaccurate data. Over time, this creates a competitive disadvantage. Each business will need a different route to transformation. But delaying action is rarely a sustainable choice. Expert advice is crucial to navigate the path. Yet many leaders see digital transformation as too complex or fear the unknown. Previous investments may have failed to deliver. Others struggle with limited internal capability or systems that cannot flex to new demands. In some cases, software solutions have overpromised and underdelivered – failing to accommodate unique organisational needs. This is precisely where tailored solutions become essential. Understanding the causes of slow progress allows us to design systems that work in the real world. At Synertec, we've built our approach around this idea. A tailored, scalable solution Synertec's approach to digital transformation in document management begins with listening. Before offering any recommendations, we work closely with our clients to understand their goals – both for the business and for the end users. We interrogate those goals, challenge assumptions and co-develop a roadmap of short, medium and long-term objectives. This plan is then matched with a tailored configuration of our Prism platform – a flexible solution designed to meet complex communication needs with minimal disruption to your teams. Our dedicated account managers ensure smooth implementation, while regular reviews keep your solution aligned to evolving business priorities. This isn't software you buy and forget – it's an ongoing partnership that evolves with your organisation. Proven results, proven technology Some may ask: can a single system really handle the breadth of document types, formats and legacy systems in use today? We believe the answer is yes – because we've done it for more than 25 years. Prism is the result of our in-house R&D and has been shaped by real-world client needs. To date, we've not encountered a file format it couldn't process. When we've seen a gap, we've enhanced Prism to close it. Take the NHS, for example. Every NHS Trust has its own mix of legacy systems, departments and communication priorities. Prism was built with this variability in mind – making it just as suitable for the commercial sector, where data diversity and compliance needs are just as complex. Working together, step by step If you're ready to re-evaluate your current approach, we're here to help. The process starts with a conversation: what are your current challenges? What are you trying to achieve? From there, we offer dedicated account management to explore every operational area, working with you to design solutions that work in your unique environment. This isn't one-size-fits-all – it's transformation designed for you. Synertec remains committed to evolving our platform in line with customer needs. One of our next priorities is expanding Prism's capabilities to allow end users to select their communication preferences more intuitively. As preferences shift and regulation tightens, this flexibility will be essential. Digital transformation is not about ticking a box. It's about building a foundation for long-term success. And with the right partner, it's more achievable than you think.
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
ASX 200 expected to be ‘in the green' following King's Birthday
Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd says the local market is expected to be 'in the green' when the ASX 200 opens on Tuesday. The major markets are expected to open slightly lower when they begin trading tonight.
The Independent
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The hidden cost of tech complexity – and what you can do about it
Freshworks is a Business Reporter client Most tech solutions promise simplicity but deliver chaos, costing time, decisions and connection – it's time for change. As companies grow, they often move fast. New markets, new customers, new demands. But growth tends to bring a flood of quick tech purchases – each solving a specific problem, each adding another layer. Before long, the very tools meant to enable speed begin to slow everything down. It's a familiar trap: complexity creeps in quietly. A duplicate process here, a siloed system there, and suddenly teams are misaligned, data is fragmented and performance suffers. Complexity is the enemy of scale As a tech leader with experience across the sector, I've seen this pattern repeat across industries and continents. Businesses of all sizes end up fighting the same invisible force: fragmentation. Teams operate from conflicting versions of the truth. Manual handoffs and makeshift integrations clog up workflows. And tech investments stall before delivering value. And it's not just operational. Fragmented systems slow down operations and obscure visibility. When your support desk, product analytics, customer database and financial systems can't communicate effectively, you're essentially making decisions without real insight. Take customer retention. If your support platform can't surface relevant in-app behaviour or billing anomalies, your team can't intervene at critical moments. That's not just a missed support ticket – it's a lost customer. Worse, it may signal dozens more if warning signs aren't shared across departments. Good intentions, bad outcomes Ironically, fragmentation often stems from good intentions. Departments adopt specialised tools to solve local challenges. But without a coherent architecture or integration strategy, organisations end up with tech stacks that resemble patchwork quilts and intelligent automation falls flat. It's what Stanford researchers Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao, authors of The Friction Project, call 'addition bias' – the instinct to add features, tools or steps instead of removing them. In their study of global brands, this tendency increased friction and slowed performance. Simplifiers, they found, often faced resistance, while adders, those who added complexity, were rewarded – even when performance suffered. Too often, organisations are sold bloated platforms packed with unused features, marketed as 'added value' but delivering the opposite. Implementations drag on for months, results take years, and the very tools meant to empower teams end up complicating their work. Meanwhile, the real cost is paid by employees, who now spend their time navigating systems rather than solving problems. AI only works if it's connected Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to accelerate business. But that promise breaks down fast without integration. Disconnected systems can't fuel automation and half-built workflows create more work – not less. But when applied strategically, AI delivers real results. Finance teams can analyse costs and optimise spending in real time. Support teams can use AI-powered agents to handle routine support tasks. Engineering can automate troubleshooting. HR can screen candidates more efficiently. And the payoff is clear: 98 per cent of employees are already getting time back in their workday thanks to AI – reinvesting it in higher-value efforts such as boosting productivity (71 per cent), coaching others (67 per cent) and tackling more creative or complex challenges (66 per cent). When AI is properly integrated across functions, it doesn't just streamline operations. It empowers people. Escape the cycle: a strategic path to uncomplicating systems The good news? It's possible to break the cycle. Here's how forward-thinking organisations are simplifying by design: Inventory everything. Map every tool across departments. You can't fix what you can't see. Use workflow automation to identify data gaps, redundancies and ownership. Prioritise integration. Evaluate platforms for open APIs and native integrations. Tools that don't integrate easily should raise red flags. Unify your data. Create a single source of truth for customer information – whether via a centralised platform or a modern data unification layer. Ensure every team works from shared insights. Designate integration leaders. Empower individuals or teams to connect departments, break silos and ensure systems integrate strategically, not reactively. Collaboration tools help align efforts. Think in platforms, not point solutions. Consolidate where it makes sense. Choose platforms that support multiple workflows – not only for current needs but also for future direction. Simplicity as a competitive edge Customer experiences are powered by the systems employees use every day. That's why tech leaders must focus on alignment, not just implementation. Sustainable speed doesn't come from scattered bursts of progress. It comes from unified momentum. In any context – business, productivity or daily operations – complexity breeds inefficiency, higher costs and slower decisions. Simplicity unlocks focus, clarity and results. For teams, unnecessary complexity causes stress and burnout. Simplicity fuels effectiveness. So the question leaders should be asking isn't whether they can afford to simplify. It's whether they can afford not to. At Freshworks, we believe simplicity isn't a sacrifice. It's a competitive edge. It's time to uncomplicate and get maximum value from your tech stack.
The Independent
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The AI transformation in construction risk management
CMiC is a Business Reporter client How AI-powered predictive analytics are bringing enhanced cost control, safety and quality and proactive decision-making to supply chains. Construction has always been an industry fraught with uncertainties. From fluctuating costs and delayed materials to safety incidents and quality concerns, risk management in this industry has traditionally relied on experience, intuition and reactive problem-solving. But while these approaches have proved adequate in the past, today's construction projects face unprecedented challenges: tighter profit margins, compressed timelines and increasingly stringent regulations. In this high-pressure environment, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force, shifting the industry from reactive problem-solving to proactive risk prevention. By leveraging advanced algorithms, machine learning and real-time data analysis, AI is revolutionising how construction firms identify, assess and mitigate risks across multiple fronts. Predictive analytics: foreseeing cost and scheduling risks Cost overruns and schedule delays have long affected construction projects. Traditional forecasting methods – relying on historical trends and manual calculations – often lack precision, leading to budget miscalculations and unforeseen disruptions. AI-driven predictive analytics offers a more accurate alternative. By processing historical project data, supplier reliability metrics, labour productivity rates and environmental variables, machine learning models can identify risk patterns that signal potential delays. Supply chain bottlenecks, labour shortages and weather disruptions become predictable, allowing project managers to implement preventative measures before setbacks occur. The adaptive nature of AI further enhances its predictive capabilities. As new data flows in, algorithms continuously refine their predictions, creating a dynamic risk management system that evolves throughout the project lifecycle. Resource planning receives a significant boost from AI's real-time data analysis capabilities. Construction sites generate vast quantities of information through equipment sensors, workforce tracking systems and material logs. AI processes this data stream to optimise resource allocation, preventing shortages and minimising downtime. Smart scheduling tools dynamically adjust project timelines, ensuring isolated delays don't cascade through the entire construction sequence. Financial oversight also benefits from AI integration. Algorithms scan procurement records, subcontractor bids and invoices for inconsistencies, flagging discrepancies before they escalate into budget overruns. When combined with real-time financial tracking, these tools provide construction firms with unprecedented visibility into spending trends. AI-driven safety: preventing accidents before they happen Safety concerns remain paramount in construction. Traditional safety measures – training programs, manual inspections and compliance checks – help mitigate hazards but often fail to prevent incidents proactively. AI introduces a transformative approach to safety management through real-time risk detection and predictive threat assessment. AI-powered cameras analyse live video feeds from job sites, identifying unsafe behaviours. When these systems detect a risk, they trigger automated alerts to safety managers, enabling immediate intervention. Wearable technology amplifies AI's safety impact. Smart helmets and vests equipped with biometric sensors monitor worker fatigue, heart rate and environmental exposure. AI analyses these signals to detect signs of exhaustion or hazardous conditions, alerting supervisors when predetermined risk thresholds are crossed, thereby reducing accidents caused by human error. Predictive safety analytics adds another protective layer. By analysing historical incident reports, weather patterns and project schedules, AI models identify when and where safety risks are most likely to emerge. This allows site managers to proactively adjust work schedules, reinforce training or implement additional protective measures in high-risk areas. Compliance management also benefits from AI automation. Natural language processing tools review safety documentation and incident reports, ensuring regulatory standards are met while reducing manual paperwork burdens. Quality control: minimising defects and failures Construction defects lead to costly rework, project delays and potential structural failures. Traditional quality control methods – manual inspections, material testing and compliance checks – are effective but limited by human oversight constraints. AI strengthens quality assurance through automated inspection processes and early inconsistency detection. Computer vision and deep learning algorithms analyse images and video from job sites, with AI-powered drones and robots scanning buildings for defects often invisible to the human eye. These systems detect cracks, misalignments and improper installations early, reducing expensive corrections later. Material performance assessment improves through machine learning models that analyse supplier records, environmental conditions and past project outcomes. If materials show failure likelihood, AI flags them before installation, ensuring only specification-compliant materials enter the construction process. Building information modelling (BIM) integration further enhances quality control. AI-enabled BIM platforms compare design blueprints with actual construction progress, triggering alerts for any deviations and allowing timely corrections. AI simulations also test structural resilience under various stress scenarios, ensuring compliance with engineering standards before material placement. Supply chain and labour risk management Supply chain disruptions and workforce shortages pose significant project risks. Traditional planning methods often fail to anticipate these challenges, relying on historical data and reactive decision-making. AI-driven procurement systems analyse market trends, supplier performance and geopolitical factors to predict material shortages and price volatility. These systems recommend alternative suppliers, optimise order timing and adjust procurement strategies before disruptions occur, helping firms minimise supply chain-related delays. Material tracking improves through AI-powered logistics platforms using RFID sensors and IoT devices to provide real-time shipment visibility. Automated scheduling tools adjust deliveries based on project timelines, preventing material shortages and excess inventory. Labour shortage risks decrease through AI-enhanced workforce analytics that assess skill availability, predict labour gaps and recommend hiring or training strategies. These systems optimise workforce distribution by matching assignments with workers based on skill level and availability. Automation further mitigates labour risks, with AI-powered robotics handling repetitive tasks such as excavation and bricklaying, allowing human workers to focus on higher-value responsibilities. The human-AI partnership Despite AI's transformative potential, human expertise remains essential in construction risk management. The most effective frameworks integrate AI capabilities with institutional knowledge, ensuring that algorithmic insights align with on-site realities. Successful firms combine AI risk assessments with superintendent evaluations, continuously validate models with field data and maintain transparent accountability structures across all stakeholders. This balanced approach leverages AI's data processing power while preserving the irreplaceable value of human judgment and experience. As construction firms increasingly adopt these technologies, they will not merely reduce project risks – they will fundamentally redefine how projects are planned, executed and completed. In an industry where margins are tight and expectations are high, AI-powered risk management represents not just an advantage but a necessity for future success.
