“We have embraced it [digitalization] with open arms and tried to promote it to concretize it for us as quickly as possible.”

Have you thought about where the company will be in the future and what you are aiming for? It is a good idea to map these things out so that you know how you want to develop your company's operations. At the same time, it is also good to think about what will happen if nothing is done and how this will affect the company's operations and competitive advantage in the long run.

Careful mapping can avoid time-consuming diversions, as a poorly designed or hastily chosen solution can come up with big and surprising challenges. If necessary an outside expert can be used already at the planning stage as a help.

See why DiabetesSara ended up giving up the first app and went on to develop their own.

VIDEO: DiabetesSara: Making use of digitalization in health care

“It was actually developed because people used to depend on notes and memory. The staff didn't really know who was responsible for what and only talked about things at the coffee table.”

“-- Of course we want to grow and be a profitable company. After all, this digitalization expands our service offering and enables growth in the economic sense --.”

“I recommend that you bring an expert or someone who can tell you what is the best platform for the company in question, because it saves you a lot of time and effort to immediately take what works best for your company.”

“An existing solution is usually the most cost-effective, but may not always be suitable for your specific business needs. On the other hand, a customized program or solution takes more time and resources, which is worth taking into account when planning.”

“Of course I do, but the whole staff has been involved in this. It has already been in the early stages and the responsibilities have indeed been divided up beforehand, so everyone has something to bring to every meeting. As a group, so to speak.”

“-- we have those meetings, the development meetings. My role has been that I forward what other experts have come up with in relation to development suggestions or what has come from customers.”

“Everybody knows what to do and the extra 'wondering' is gone.”

“You don't have to be in control all the time and manually fill in the booking calendars yourself, but trust that it works and that it's a good idea to have the help of some kind of digital solution to make your own work easier by taking away a big part of it.”

Above we have mapped the current situation and goals of the company, after this it is time to think about how to reach these goals. What are the company's next steps on the development path that will help achieve the right goal? As previously seen in the videos, companies have highlighted the importance of a good working group and expert help at various stages of development.

In the accompanying video, the entrepreneur of Kannuskulma tells how the development of e-commerce has gone in the company.

VIDEO: Digi2B - Digitalisaatio bisnesajurina: Kannuskulma

“(--) even though I am a sole entrepreneur, I don't think that I do it alone.”

“I feel that I especially have [experience] on the field and -- the know-how to develop it. But of course, I don't have the skills to make such a digital application, so of course I'll buy it from someone who knows how to do it.”