Assessment of Process Digitalization Levels in SILA Union Software
Process digitalization has become a key factor in enhancing business efficiency. Companies are increasingly turning to specialized software solutions that help evaluate and optimize the level of their process digitalization. One such solution is SILA Union, which offers tools for analyzing and managing business processes in terms of their digital maturity. This article examines what process digitalization assessment entails, the key considerations for conducting it, why it is important for modern organizations, and how SILA Union can be used as a tool for this purpose.
Digitalization Level Assessment: Legislative Acts and Methodologies
The evaluation of process digitalization levels is based on several criteria reflecting the degree to which digital technologies are integrated into an organization’s processes. In Russia, several regulatory acts governing digital transformation and digitalization assessment were issued in 2024.
The Government Directive of the Russian Federation No. 1632-r, dated July 28, 2017, approved the "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation" program, aimed at developing digital technologies and infrastructure. The program focuses on the digital transformation of key sectors, workforce training, and the implementation of innovative technologies in the national economy.
Federal Law No. 258-FZ, “On Experimental Legal Regimes for Digital Innovations in the Russian Federation” (commonly known as the "regulatory sandbox law"), was enacted to create favorable conditions for the development and testing of new digital technologies and innovations within a legal framework. Its goals include simplifying and accelerating the deployment of technologies that cannot be fully utilized under existing legal constraints. Key provisions of the law include:
Supporting Innovation: The law enables testing of new technologies that fall outside current legal frameworks, which is especially important for areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Regulatory Flexibility: It introduces the possibility of temporarily lifting or modifying legal restrictions on specific projects to allow testing in real-world conditions while minimizing legal risks.
Accelerated Technology Deployment: Experimental legal regimes help adapt regulations to new technologies more quickly, avoiding the delays of full legal revisions.
Business digitalization is becoming a necessity as modern laws and programs create conditions for accelerated innovation adoption and flexible regulation. This enables companies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance the quality of services and products, and adapt more quickly to market changes. The adoption of digital technologies also helps organizations meet legal requirements, increase competitiveness, and mitigate risks associated with human factors and outdated processes.
Why Evaluate Processes in Terms of Digitalization Levels?
Assessing the level of process digitalization allows organizations to gain a clearer understanding of how effectively modern technologies are utilized in their operations. This provides several advantages:
Increased Efficiency:
Digitalization automates routine tasks, reducing time and human resource costs. Evaluating processes helps identify areas where digital tools can be implemented to enhance productivity.
Transparency and Control:
Highly digitalized processes are easier to monitor and manage. This is particularly important for large organizations with numerous business units, where each process must be predictable and controllable.
Reduced Errors and Risks:
Process automation significantly lowers the likelihood of human error and reduces operational risks associated with manual execution.
Competitiveness:
Digitalization assessment enables companies to benchmark their achievements against competitors and develop transformation strategies, ultimately strengthening their market position.
Compliance with Legislation:
Digitalizing processes not only enhances market competitiveness but is also actively supported by legislation, providing additional benefits for business operations.
How Is the Evaluation Conducted?
Evaluating the level of process digitalization typically involves analyzing the following aspects:
Task Automation:
How automated is the process? Are information systems and BPM platforms used in its execution?
Digital Documents:
Does the process involve electronic document management, or are traditional paper documents still in use?
Data Integration:
How well is the process integrated with other systems and processes within the organization?
Interaction Level:
Are there digital communication channels with clients, suppliers, or internal users?
Analytics and Reporting:
Does the process include tools for data collection and analytics? Can participants access real-time reports?
Each aspect is assessed on a maturity scale, where a low level corresponds to traditional manual processes, and a high level represents full digital transformation with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and automated management.
Evaluating the Level of Digitalization Using SILA Union
To evaluate the level of process digitalization with SILA Union, a script can be run on high-level process models. Within minutes, each function in the process tree is analyzed for its level of digitalization, providing a comprehensive view of the company's digital maturity.
The analysis highlights the "Services" category, with a digitalization level of 0.484. This value is visually represented in blue for clarity (see Fig. 1).
At the third level of detail, it becomes apparent that the process "Strategy Development and Service Delivery" has the lowest level of digitalization (see Fig. 2).
Further detailed analysis reveals that this process is characterized by a low level of digitalization due to a significant proportion of manual and semi-automated tasks. This substantially reduces the overall efficiency of the process (see Fig. 3).
Visual Representation
To ensure clear visualization, the dashboard functionality in SILA Union is used. These dashboards are automatically updated when processes are modified and re-evaluated, ensuring data remains current.
With these dashboards, it is easy to assess the overall level of digitalization within the company and identify bottlenecks—processes with minimal digitalization levels—across the entire process tree (see Figs. 4–6).
Рисунок 4. Дашборд процессов верхнего уровня
Conclusion
Evaluating the level of process digitalization is a crucial tool for organizations aiming for sustainable growth and competitiveness. It helps identify weak points that require digital transformation and provides a clear understanding of the business's current state. SILA Union, as a software solution, offers the necessary tools for such evaluations, enabling companies to implement digital technologies and improve their business processes.
