3. Providing integrated experiences
A successful digital strategy requires integrating digital tools and data throughout the organization. One way to think about integration is to consider your company’s top 10 daily functions that require access to data. Is the data usable, visible, secure, integrated?
Cross-app and platform integrations make customer and client relationships better. APIs and modern soſtware platforms help release data from silos, making it accessible throughout an organization. With Bank of America’s digital options, for instance, “Payment is integrated, the documents are integrated, the checkout is integrated, the data is integrated,” says Aguallo. “We want to meet our clients wherever they want to be next. We don't want to make it about Bank of America. We want to make it about integrating into their life.”
For business clients, that might mean investing in products that allow them to access data and information in one place—for instance, Bank of America’s Intelligent Receivables®, an innovative matching solution using AI that helps to take the manual work out of reconciling receipts.
4. Assessing today’s risk management
With increased connections and digitized functions across the business world, cybersecurity has never been more important. Cybercrime is a threat, but on the flip side, smart technologies like digital consumer payment options that are processed instantly can also improve security, reduce errors and prevent fraud. Bank of America is deeply invested in the next-generation security technology to protect systems and clients. “It's table stakes that you're keeping my data secure. It's not an advantage, it is expected,” Aguallo says. “So modern risk management has to be top of your management team strategy.”
Companies also face increased risks from a lack of attention to proper corporate social responsibility, something that draws more scrutiny from a wider set of stakeholders: from clients to consumers, employees to shareholders. Over the past few years, the impact of corporate action—or inaction—has grown in importance, especially to younger generations, giving rise to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) initiatives that place digital at the center as the best solution to address the challenges ahead. Take, for instance, the ability to move from paper to digital records and billing, which addresses environmental concerns that resonate with Gen Z.
An integrated approach is key
Digital by design is all about making customers’ and employees’ lives, and your relationships, faster, smarter and more secure. To achieve these goals, it is important that digital initiatives are considered across the entire business and integrated into your broader business strategy. “Start with a blank sheet of paper, and reimagine your customer and employee interactions,” Aguallo says.
Whatever you want to achieve, the companies who embrace digital transformation with intention, discipline and speed will find their digital edge and capitalize on it for wide-ranging and long-lasting success for customers and employees.