Businesses don’t make money becoming a challenger brand, they do it by remaining one, and, in fact, taking on the permanent persona of a challenger brand, reshaping the sector and, more importantly, the ecosystem. This is where local digital enabler, e4, sits currently, and the local brand has no plans to slow down or change its go-to-market strategy. Group CEO, Grant Phillips, says removing the friction within ecosystems is exactly where the business thrives.
“There is such value in identifying the bottlenecks within a system and not only removing them, but at the same time, finding out where and how to add value within the ecosystem. Ultimately, our aim is to decrease the time to home ownership.”
E4 started more than 20 years ago and has, decade-by-decade, claimed a spot as a leading digital enabler. Phillips says that key to this achievement is identifying the friction and working to remove it.
We have identified patterns causing digital friction and, almost always, it involves non-intuitive user interfaces, slow systems, poorly integrated applications and or redundant applications. While these can be addressed with technology, there are also other forms of friction that touch on the human interface, such as complex processes that are not easily changed or adhered too. These all also speak to the overall user experience, which, if this is not optimal, stands square in the face of a slick business process with high data qualities.
Phillips says a good way to immediately unblock bottlenecks and remove necessary friction is to be aware of the simplicity in a process flow. From login to accessing the software, simplicity is the ultimate driver of success.
The big picture is another ‘must have’, according to him: “Having sight of the full process is critical to the user success journey.” In May 2023, Gartner found that 47% of digital workers struggled to find the information needed to do their jobs effectively due to the sheer number of applications they use. The average number of applications a desk worker uses increased from six in 2019 to 11 in 2023.
It is what they like to call the ‘experience‘ gap, according to Phillips. There is a significant difference between the user-friendly consumer applications employees use in their personal lives and the often clunky enterprise software they are forced to use at work.
It is often the case that the focus is on business outcomes over user needs. Organisations prioritise delivering software with a focus on process-based efficiency rather than considering the contextual needs of employees or embracing modern interface design.
Improving the digital employee experience is now recognised as a critical factor in driving productivity and engagement. Gartner suggests organisations should become more customer-centric with their internal technology and design new, human-powered enterprises that enable employees to do their best work.
This approach is much the same as what e4 does in the fintech space. The company is hyper-focused on the user journey and the goal of handing over keys to a home. This fixation is what makes it successful. E4 spots the friction, not only removes it, but designs a process that makes it much better.
That’s what digital enablers should do in every sector, and while e4 is strong in financial services, there is nothing stopping it to use this expertise in other sectors. Friction exists in every process; we know industry and we know technology. The rest is what I like to call prop tech inspired magic, says Phillips.
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e4
e4 is a technology company specialising in digitalisation. By understanding the complexity of a digital journey, e4 partners with its clients to provide innovative solutions that suits their unique needs. Using an omni-channel platform approach, e4 offers a range of digitally-inspired services as well as solutions.
Working across financial services, data and the legal sector, e4 understands the intricate requirements in these sectors, and uses its expertise to assist clients in effectively managing their businesses through digitalisation.