Enterprise information systems are surprisingly organic in nature. They evolve in the same way businesses grow and change. New pieces of software or enterprise applications are introduced while outdated ones die. However, you may discover yourself working with legacy systems. These are systems that have already reached the end of their life cycle, but you have to keep them on life-support just a little longer to meet the needs of your business. We know there’s rarely a chance to start from a clean slate.
This is why information systems grow to be convoluted and sometimes even messy. Increasing transparency of digital processes is one of the fastest ways to move your business out of the mess.
Transparency to the rescue
There will always be issues with complex, interconnected digital systems. Sometimes just a single typo in one application leads to strange behavior and faults in other parts of the enterprise system. If the system as a whole is a black box, it may be extremely hard to discover the problems and find where they originated. Time, resources, and the patience of end-users are wasted.
Once you have visibility on system interaction and information exchange, you have a real chance of fixing emerging issues before they become serious problems. For example, if you have the ability to spot an error between two applications the moment the error occurs, you can immediately start investigating, fixing, and informing everybody who might be affected. If you do not have this ability yet, Aino.io can help you get there.
Learn how Aino.io can help run the digital side of day-to-day operations »
Nobody wants to make blind decisions
Chances are that documentation of some parts of the enterprise system is outdated, or even missing. The people who once contributed to developing the system may have moved on taking their knowledge with them. Perhaps most importantly, the business that is supported by the digital processes most likely uses systems differently than years before.
The further your information system has evolved, the more you have to know to fully understand how it works and reacts to changes. This is why leading the development of such a system may become tedious and costly. In reality, you may have had to make blind decisions, but have they taken you to the right direction?
For its part, transparency of digital processes helps you make informed decisions rather than blind ones. If you know exactly how the various pieces of your software make up the entirety of the enterprise system, and how each part depends on the other, you have a better chance of making good choices.
For example when adding and integrating a new application to the system, it is valuable to know how exactly the previous integrations work right now. In addition, if you have to choose which part of the system will be improved to sustain increased usage, you have to know which integrations are the most critical and which ones may become bottlenecks.
Learn what kind of insight Aino.io gives for leading digital processes »
A mindset and a tool
In a nutshell, black boxes are bad for your company on many levels. Working with a mysterious system that nobody knows enough about is frustrating and risky. On the other hand, involving numerous people in your company in all aspects of the digital process is impossible. However, a good level of understandable and digestible information about the system has far reaching benefits.
Transparency is beneficial both for those who run day-to-day business using the enterprise system, and for those in charge of making decisions about the future of the system.
We like to think that organizations need a mindset that drives them towards transparency as well as a tool to help them get there. Aino.io was developed and designed for this purpose. It guides development toward a clean overall design, enforcing transparency from the get-go. It is an analytics and monitoring tool that lets you take control of your digitalized business processes. Want to try Aino.io? Request an invite »