Back office DX refers to the use of digital technology to streamline back office operations.

To realize back office DX, you need to introduce digital technology, but do you know what kind of technology you should introduce?

Digital technology comes in a variety of forms, including IoT and AI, and it seems that many people do not know which digital technology they should introduce.

Once you understand which digital technologies you need to implement, achieving back-office DX becomes easier.

In fact, the easiest digital technology for achieving back-office DX is said to be “cloud services.”

The cloud is said to be the “first step towards digital transformation,” and by using cloud services to advance digital transformation in the back office in particular, it is possible to cheaply and easily improve business efficiency through back-office digital transformation.

In this article, we will explain why using the cloud for back-office digital transformation leads to improved business efficiency.

What is a back office?

A back office is a department that handles the company’s foundational tasks, such as managing the company’s money and maintaining the company’s systems, as opposed to departments such as accounting, general affairs, legal affairs, and information systems staff, who are on the front lines of the company and deal with customers.

Departments that fall under the back office category are listed below.

The people who perform these back office tasks are those who form the foundation of the entire company, and the larger the company, the more indispensable they tend to be in many cases.

Although the back office does not directly generate profits, it is essential for the smooth running of corporate activities.

However, because every department requires specialized knowledge, it is often difficult to attract talent for the back office, resulting in a shortage of staff.

Back office DX is the solution to this situation.

Related article ➤ What are the issues that need to be improved in the back office? Efficiency through the cloud

Why is it necessary to improve the efficiency of back office operations?

We have explained the back office in detail, but do you understand why it is necessary to improve the efficiency of operations?

The most common reasons are as follows.

High workload

First, here.

As we mentioned earlier, the back office requires employees with specialized knowledge, so it continues to be difficult to secure personnel.

As a result, the amount of work each person has to handle is increasing.

If that happens, back office staff will have to handle a lot of work every day.

If the back office staff are no longer able to handle the work, it will not only affect the back office, but the entire company.

For that reason, in order to prevent such a worst-case scenario from happening, companies will need to improve back-office digital transformation and operational efficiency.

Easily dependent on individual people

This is related to the shortage of human resources, but if new personnel do not come in, then naturally the same people will continue to do the same tasks.

If the same person continues to do the same tasks, then that person will be the only one who can handle them.

If that person leaves the company and someone else has to take them over, who will be able to take them over?

We think that would be a very difficult challenge.

If the tasks are managed using Excel or coding, it becomes extremely difficult to hand them over.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to utilize IT and digital technology and back-office digital transformation.

Stick to old ways

It is very dangerous to continue using old ways just because you are used to doing the work.

In particular, managing important data on paper or USB.

We live in an age where how we protect important data is important.

It is understandable that paper or USBs are reassuring because the data is at hand.

However, there is too much data that can be lost if it is misplaced or lost.

If you can manage your data using systems and digital technology, this type of situation will not happen.

For example, if you use a cloud system, even if your computer or server is damaged, the data will remain in the cloud, so there is no risk of damaging important data.

If you have any concerns about the security of old ways, it’s time to introduce a system and take measures.

What is back office DX?

So far, we have written about various things about the back office, and we have used the term “back office DX” many times in our talk.

Do you know what this term back office DX means?

We are sure there are some people who do not know what DX means in the first place, thus we will explain what DX is.

What is DX?

DX is an abbreviation for “Digital” and “Transformation.”

Many people may wonder why it is called DX and not DT, but the “trans” in transformation can be abbreviated to “X,” so it is called “DX.”

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also has a page about DX, so please check it out.

Also recommended reading➤Why does cloud utilization have merits for promoting DX? Explanation of merits

About back office DX

To put it simply, back office DX is the introduction of digital and IT technologies into the back office.

When you hear it like that, it sounds like it has a slightly different meaning from ordinary DX, but we agree.

In fact, we get the impression that there are few companies that are aiming to introduce digital and IT technologies into the back office in order to increase sales and performance.

For this reason, back office DX is often used to mean the introduction of IT technology.

However, undertaking back-office DX will indirectly lead to improved business performance.

This is because it makes analysis easier and increases the speed of information sharing, which inevitably leads to more efficient work and better business performance.

The back office is the foundation of a company.

Improving the efficiency of the back office will increase the efficiency of the entire company, so many departments will enjoy merit from introducing back-office DX.

The background to the popularity of back-office DX

The number of companies introducing back-office DX is increasing year by year.

Please see the data here.

As you can see from the data here, some companies are actively working on introducing back-office DX.

So why is back-office DX becoming popular?

The answer is, as we discussed when discussing why improving back office efficiency is necessary, because many companies have realized that there are various problems in their back offices, and at the same time, it has become clear that improving the efficiency of back office operations can indirectly improve business performance. Until recently, an action-oriented, sales-oriented work style was mainstream, but in today’s world, there is often a demand for “operational efficiency” even within that work style.

A typical example of this is “marketing.”

Until recently, the mainstream work style was one that focused on action and focused on sales, but in today’s world, there is often a demand for “operational efficiency” even in such work.

It is true that productivity is significantly higher and company performance improves dramatically if you analyze data and approach customers who have a high likelihood of receiving orders, rather than selling to companies that have no demand at all.

For these reasons, back-office DX is becoming popular.

Merits of implementing back-office DX

In the previous section, we briefly touched on the merits of introducing back-office DX, but in this chapter we will explain the specific benefits.

The three most representative merits are as follows.

Reduces work burden

In back office work, many tasks do not change from day to day and are often done manually.

For this reason, many of these tasks can be systematized and even automated.

By doing so, tasks will not be dependent on individuals, and data collection and accuracy will improve dramatically.

If you want to systematize multiple tasks and move them to the cloud, we recommend a cloud virtual desktop service.

Strengthening security measures

Since the back office handles a lot of important data, security measures must be taken at all times.

Cloud services are an effective security measure, but it seems that many people distrust cloud services.

However, the truth is that managing important data on a cloud service is safer than managing it in a local environment or on a server.

If you manage important data on an in-house server, no matter how many security measures you take, if that in-house server is damaged by an earthquake or lightning strike, the damage will be irreparable.

With the cloud, even if the in-house server breaks down, the data is stored in the cloud, so work can be resumed immediately.

If you want to strengthen security measures and improve work efficiency, it is best to use cloud services to tackle back-office DX.

It becomes easier to secure human resources

One of the many reasons for introducing back-office DX is the introduction of telework.

Many companies introduced telework during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable employees to work from home, so it seems that many companies consider it unnecessary now that the coronavirus is no longer widespread.

However, the merits of telework go beyond coronavirus countermeasures.

For example, small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas find it difficult to hire back office employees, and many companies face many challenges in terms of recruitment.

If such companies introduce telework through back-office DX, they can resolve these recruitment challenges.

Furthermore, in recent years, the introduction of teleworking has become a great merit for companies in terms of preparing for earthquakes such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake and the Nankai Trough megathrust earthquake.

Demerits of introducing back office DX

We have mentioned that back office DX has many merits, but of course there are also demerits.

The most common ones are as follows.

Costs are incurred

Introducing back-office DX will incur considerable costs if you are introducing general digital technology.

Although this is just a rough estimate, it is said to cost anywhere from millions to tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of yen.

Of course, when it comes to hundreds of millions of yen, it would depend on the size of the company and the number of systems and digital technologies to be introduced, so it would not cost hundreds of millions of yen, but it would still be a significant expense of millions to tens of millions of yen.

One more thing to be careful of here is introducing back-office DX without losing sight of the purpose.

Even if you spend a lot of money to introduce back-office DX, it will be pointless if you introduce something that is not suitable.

Do your research and introduce back-office DX that suits your company.

Changes the way you work

Back-office DX is a transformation in the way you work, so the way you work will change drastically.

Many people will find the change in the way they work stressful.

Therefore, if you are considering introducing it, it is necessary to thoroughly share it with the entire company.

It is recommended to use a system that suits your company

So far, we have talked about various things about back-office DX.

Based on this, it can be said that you should introduce a system that suits your company.

Also, if you want to introduce DX to your entire back office, we recommend using cloud services.

Core systems that are often used in back office operations, such as sales management software, payroll software, and accounting software, are available in standalone types that are downloaded and used, on-premise types, and cloud types that run on the cloud.

It may seem that standalone and on-premise types cannot be run on the cloud, but in fact there are services that can migrate this type of software to the cloud, so if you use these, it can be migrated to the cloud.

In this way, using cloud services and gradually introducing back-office DX with a small start will lead to success and minimize costs.

If you are unsure of how to proceed, please check out the “DX Promotion Indicators” issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

➤ Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: DX Promotion Indicators

Recommended back-office DX introduction system

If you are introducing back-office DX, we recommend making use of cloud services.

Cloud services are also known as the first step towards digital transformation, and can make introducing back-office DX easily.

If you want to easily introduce back-office DX, we recommend AppliPri Cloud Desktop.

applippli Cloud Desktop is a cloud virtual desktop service, and is one kind of technology that converts your entire PC environment, including core systems and shared folders, to the cloud.

You can migrate your entire PC environment to the cloud, which is useful not only for teleworking, but also for sharing information and working on the move.

Work that was previously only possible in a designated location can now be done anywhere, greatly improving work efficiency.

For more information about applippli Cloud Desktop, click here.

■No user restrictions, first month free, monthly fee from JPY 48,000

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