Technology Record - Issue 28: Spring 2023

104 VIEWPOINT CPQ and document automation solutions can empower employees with the data and insights to do their jobs more confidently and effectively BRYANT HARLAND: EXPERLOGIX The importance of being usable The link between employee experience and business outcomes has become increasingly clear in recent years. For many organisations, this has taken shape in digital transformation initiatives, transitions to the cloud and investment into integrated platforms and systems. There’s little question that these technologies have shaped the way organisations operate in drastic ways. However, there are some areas of business that are still held back by legacy processes and tools. We spend a lot of time thinking about processes and how they relate to workflow at Experlogix. We help organisations streamline operations in two critical areas: configure, price, quote (CPQ) software for sales operations for organisations with configurable products and services, and document automation software for any organisations that must generate and maintain routine documents. We recently surveyed our prospects, customers and social media followers to get an understanding of the core challenges that drive need for better tools as well as the barriers facing organisations when they get to implementing these solutions. Although our survey focused on document automation and CPQ software, our research tapped into larger trends related to employee and customer experiences, as well as the core features that business leaders most desired from CPQ and document automation vendors. Employees want accessible tech in the workplace Our findings show considerable momentum for easy-to-use tools, especially low-code/ no-code software. Business departments are increasingly taking control of their technical destinies. In fact, when thinking about future business success, more respondents ranked implementing low-code/no-code solutions as important compared to advanced solutions like artificial intelligence and machine learning. The five most highly ranked factors were: • Implementing low- or no-code solutions ranked top three for 93 per cent of respondents • Leveraging AI and ML in critical processes (90 per cent) • Having real-time, anywhere access to deep analytics and insights (86 per cent) • Ensuring data security (85 per cent) • Consolidating multiple solutions into super apps (79 per cent) The good news is that AI can be a powerful enabler of low-code/no-code software. We see the interest in accessible tech as also driving a simplification of AI-powered interfaces. For instance, more business software could include “It takes leadership support and structured training to ensure that employees understand how new processes will work”

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