Link: http://www.etc-architect.com/?p=37
From ETC-Architect » Architect Global | Data Architect, Global | Enterprise Architect, Global
We are told over and over that it is time for digitalisation of all areas of business, ideally also of all the private areas. Often this is sold in just having only benefits. We already know that for privacy reasons in the private area it may not be the best idea, however in business we are also presented by an extreme high number of failures. The first thing that springs to mind are the usual IT project failures, however from a Business Architecture there is a fundamental reason often blocking industrialisation that is overlooked. The reason is that digitalisation can only happen, if industrialisation has taken place.
Now most people will argue that industrialisation was something that happened over a century ago in the century of industrialisation and we are industrialised and should just go ahead with digitalisation without any cheap excuses. The problem is just that industrialisation was only really introduced in some areas, mainly in production,retail, as well as some common areas such as payroll and account payable and receivable, as well as most of IT. If you look at the typical bank or insurance company you will see no industrialisation and in other industries such as transportation every move towards industrialisation is often met with fierce opposition. The first step in industrialisation is that during any business process there is no break and that no one is doing the whole process. This notion is something that we often hate more than any of the benefits of industrialisation. In todays world we usually offer “premium services” as an excuse against industrialisation, as we think that anything industrialised must be lesser quality. That this is not always the case you can easily see if you look at the time scales of a non industrialised business process.
So before we start to hype digitalisation we need industrialisation. And before we start with industrialisation we need to ask ourselves we we are willing to go that way as most industrialisation projects in non-industrialised areas of business are failing as well as it robs the people in that area and their managers the feeling to be something special.
