What is digital transformation? Big or small, you have personally gone through your own digital transformation. Remember the first car phone and your dial-up internet modem? And if your business has been around long enough (just a couple years), your business has also already gone through digital transformations. Changes in technology have grown exponentially over the last few decades. Think about it. In 2009, the iPad, Lyft, Square, Instagram, and Slack did not exist. Because you have transformed many times, you can do it again. Digital transformation has many definitions. Today we will focus on the continuous improvement aspects of digital transformation. After all, why else would any of us go through the process, if not to come out on the other side stronger and better prepared for new challenges.

Digital Transformation as Continuous Improvement

Don Shula quoting Winston Churchill, said it best, “Success is not forever and failure isn't fatal.” These wise words remind us not to take for granted the times of growth and not to stop fighting in times of retraction. During times of growth, the key is to strategically build an agile company to be prepared for the changes, challenges, opportunities and setbacks. Embracing technology and creating a positive mindset around change will make smooth transitions for the future. There is a reason why no successful business uses old technologies and old processes anymore. This is how you become “built to last.” From migrating legacy systems to implementing remote work, there are countless ways to transform your business to come out stronger in 2021. How much disruption can you handle and how much is necessary? Can you afford to NOT reinvent your business? Small changes can give good results. But for fundamental change that will radically impact your business, you need expert advice from an outsiders’ perspective. Some may feel intimidated by the kind of large-scale step innovation needed, but bold action is rewarded. Given the changes in consumer expectations in 2020, this will call for a critical technological revolution influenced by thoughtful experts. You might have once been the disrupter - do not lose that drive!

TECKpert’s Story of Digital Transformation

Where to begin? With the speed of technology and TECKpert’s 10+ years of experience, TECKpert has been through several digital transformations. Over the years, we analyzed our pain points, the market, and our clients’ feedback. Then we found the skilled talent and technologies. We even created our own technologies - not to just get us through these digital transformations, but to make us stronger.

• 2010- Web Based Project Management - From the start, we wanted to move all our communications and processes to be accessible by our team and clients. We started using Basecamp for project management and client collaboration with Kanban boards for agile software development. Over the years we’ve used additional tools while consolidating vendors for project management and development.
• 2013- Online Invoicing and Payment System - Initially we took payments over PayPal and evolved into our own customized system for accounting and client invoicing system. This enabled us to accept credit card payments, ACH, and bank transfers.
• 2014- Digital Proposal Contract Signing - We used electronic signing software Rightsignature since it launched. Some of our clients still liked to print, sign, and scan. Over time we’ve seen less and less of this as legal departments and business owners consolidated with similar programs online.
• 2015- Intranet and Timekeeping Portal - Our first version of our internal tool for managing time tracking and inter-company communications. This was built using WordPress and evolved over the years with processes we developed for onboarding clients, contracts, and time tracking. We tested integrations with external systems for invoicing, CRM, and other tools.
• 2017- Cloud-based Automation - Our cloud environments and applications were using automation to monitor health and orchestrate deployments. This added a level of efficiency to our development processes as well as adding efficiencies to how we manage applications in production environments.
• 2019- Business Process Platform - We began using our own custom application that brought in the processes and features we built with our intranet and timekeeping portal. Now we have a holistic approach to managing people, projects, contracts, time, and invoicing using our own technology. Our road map is to continue to integrate key business processes into our own proprietary technology.
• 2020 and beyond - Mobile App for Recruiting and Workforce Management - Most notably, our current app integrated with our business process platform (contracting, crm, contracts) focused on managing our expanding agile workforce. Phase One included the ability for applicants to create profiles and choose their work preferences. This gives our Workforce Management the ability to quickly pair the vetted candidate with the latest project. Additionally, Phase Two will include several upgrades including the opportunity for our candidates to access upskilling.

Where will TECKpert be in ten more years? Who knows, but we're looking forward to it! Looking forward, we are planning our future to be ready to quickly embrace opportunity as it comes. We are focused on masterful agility and excited about new technological advancements. As a result, we built solutions for TECKpert and our clients that reinvigorate the heart and soul of the company. Let’s discuss your unique needs, what is available now, and what can be created for you. Be bold as you define the new ideal version of the company. Reach out today to TECKpert for your digital solutions.