Blog 17.7.2023

Modernisation journey of digital services – What and why?

Digital Society

Intelligent Industry

The goal-oriented modernisation of digital services improves customer experience, maintains information security, increases usage and thus enhances the company’s performance in a changing world, enabling scalable, efficient and cost-effective solutions.

Where does the need for modernisation come from?

The requirements for digital services are higher than ever. The modernisation of digital services extremely vital when it comes to the competitiveness of companies. To ensure business continuity and growth, you should acknowledge:

Service independence from time, place and device

Nearly all people consume digital services daily with a variety of devices for both personal and business needs. The user experience, the scope of the content, and the customer path must be identical and uninterrupted, regardless of how and when the service is used.

The ability to enjoy digital services

An excellent user experience is created when the service not only takes into account fluency but also the emotions resulting from using the service. Digital services should be enjoyable. Thus, even if the content of the service is not entertainment, it should nevertheless evoke positive emotions in the user.

Among other things, enjoyment can be increased by combining automatic and personal service in a meaningful way for users, in a tone of voice appropriate to the service, and with clear language. You can also increase the enjoyment by utilising audiovisual narration in addition to text whenever appropriate.

Uninterrupted service path

Digital services are now built on top of several systems. However, the customer journey experienced by the user must also be uninterrupted when the use of the service is incomplete or when the user returns to it with another device.

Smart utilisation of automation and AI

It is vital to identify when AI and the automation based on it are better solutions for the user than humans and when they are not. In general, services can be improved and made more efficient by these. However, there are still situations where a complete replacement of a person with artificial intelligence can damage the service value the customer experiences.

When a digital service has a seamless user interface and can be used despite peak times, customers simply buy more, whether it is online stores or digital channels and services through which the content is consumed.

When a digital service has a seamless user interface and can be used despite peak times, customers simply buy more.

Modern services collect and use data, for example, by proposing recommendations based on the user’s profile and behaviour. Similarly, when it is easy to get in touch with customer service, for example, using an AI-enabled chatbot solution, customers can solve their problems quickly and get a better experience with the services provided.

Modernisation of digital services is the lifeblood of companies

​The outdated system involves direct business risks. Different pain points hit the face harshly when digital services are not up-to-date. The need for modernisation manifests itself in different ways during the service’s life cycle.

  1. User experience: Slow download times, lack of usability on a mobile device, or outdated content all lead to a negative user experience and, ultimately, loss of users.
  2. Reliability: Interruptions, crashes, and error messages cause users to switch to the next, more reliable service in Google search results.​
  3. Security: Obsolete systems often unnoticeably open up new breaches for cyberattacks as security erodes.
  4. Expertise: The organisation’s ability to function agilely deteriorates, and operations are focused on maintenance. In addition, the organisation incurs significant, increasing, and non-value-adding costs.

The world is rapidly moving towards a digital future, and organisations that do not keep up are left out of the competition.

How to succeed in business modernisation?

Companies must continuously develop digital services to meet the changing needs, whether the service users are people or smart devices. On your way from rigid and outdated operations towards agile service production, you need to

  • plan and lead carefully to minimise business risks and maximise the positive impact on customer and employee experience and, ultimately, the future of the business.
  • evaluate the risks to be considered in the implementation. Make ethically and environmentally sustainable choices from the beginning. You should also understand and act upon the diversity of the needs of the service users and their impact on our world.
  • identify and plan stakeholder needs, rather than IT ahead. The benefits of the renewal effort are only achieved when people adopt a new way of thinking and behaviour.
  • look to the future and consider possible future scenarios. Technology is a crucial enabler on the entire development path.

Why it makes sense to modernise?

Modernisation of services brings many benefits. As you transition to modern and scalable technologies, production speeds up and errors reduce. The investment will also pay for itself quickly. You will be able to respond to the changing demands of the business quickly as the technical environments adapt to the needs of the company.

With modernisation, the business becomes supplier-independent. Modern systems use universal languages, are user-friendly and can be easily integrated with other systems. Hence, your organisation’s business is independent of a single market leader’s ecosystem or supplier’s expertise.

You will make your customers even happier when you can react to customer feedback with agile development and a faster service publishing cycle than before. Tested, high-quality services bring peace of mind to you and your customer.

In addition, both employee experience and customer satisfaction will improve. Your employees are more satisfied and find work more meaningful as agile culture and user-friendly systems reduce unnecessary work, enhance the movement of information, and save time for impactful work.

Agile methods enable diverse collaboration and independent decision-making when the roles and goals are clear. At the same time, you will make your customers even happier when you can react to their feedback with agile development and a faster service release cycle. Tested, high-quality services bring peace of mind to you and your customer.


modernisation

modernisation path

Juhana Harmanen

Technology & Software Development

Juhana is the Head of the Technology and Software Development service area. He values a forward-looking vision and working with meaningful projects. He is a hands-on guy and very experience technology professional who helps to renew Goforeans' know-how to meet the current and future needs of customers. Juhana is an outdoors person and has spent twelve short summers as an expedition guide in Lapland. Recently, his free time has been filled with spending time with his children and family, as well as successive renovation and construction projects.

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