Earlier this year, Outsource editor Jamie Liddell chaired an advisor roundtable hosted by Capgemini, during which key themes emerged which were subsequently explored further by several of the roundtable guests in our recent two-part article 'A Dizz
To read the first part of this article, click here.
Consumers are becoming both more loyal and trusting of their banks and insurers according to a survey of 3,000 consumers in Germany, Spain and the UK. The research, titled Youbiquity Finance 3, is the latest in the BT- and Avaya-supported series begun in 2012. It finds that the increasing use of technology is coinciding with improved relations between consumers and banks and insurance companies.
Dictation being forced in Afghanistan,
Revolution in South Africa taking a stand,
People in Eurasia on the brink of oppression,
I hope it’s gonna be alright.
‘It’s Alright’, Pet Shop Boys
It’s 2016 and we have digital technology at our fingertips, yet few bank accounts can be opened without printing and signing a paper form. A student can’t get their exam results until an examiner manually crosses and marks their paper. Our reliance on paper runs deep and many business workflows continue to bear the “paper weight” burden.
Pokemon Go signals the mainstream arrival of augmented reality (AR). From here on in, virtual reality (VR) will always be the poorer cousin – or bridesmaid if you will, and never the bride – in the fight for digital’s push out through the screen into reality.
This new (albeit long-pending) medium of AR will have a huge impact on local and B2C advertising. In fact you might argue it already has, adding billions to the valuation of Nintendo after just a week since Pokemon Go launched – a truly remarkable week.
Throughout the last ten years of my career as part of Capgemini’s BPO unit I have seen digital innovation transform our personal lives exponentially in terms of smartphones, streaming services and access to real-time information updates. The natural consequence is that we now expect the same level of responsiveness, quality and dynamic interaction in our professional lives as we’ve become accustomed to outside of work. This has resulted in a plethora of changes in terms of what is expected from outsourced services
We know that digital processes create leaner, more agile operations, not to mention financial and time savings. So why are so many businesses still unable to part with the millions of pieces of paper which are printed across the globe each year, despite the fact that the majority of this paper will be used once, then thrown or filed away?
According to the Institute of Finance & Management, 61% of top global companies have implemented full Accounts Payable (AP) automation. This occurrence has had its challenges. Primarily, the universal commonality of budget allocation is the obstacle to overcome. When a company’s CFO is prioritising expenditures, their eye remains on cash flow and compliance/risk mitigation. AP must factor into these objectives to achieve funding for automation (or for anything else; with decisions being made by priority). For many large and mid-size organisations, AP is a manual world.
