Large Corporates Poised For New Round Of EHS System Consolidation

Large Corporates Poised For New Round Of EHS System Consolidation

Digital transformation is a decades-old concept, but it has not hit all sectors and all business functions evenly. While finance, procurement and HR teams started digitizing in the 1990s, environment, health and safety (EHS) functions were typically far later to the process, with the main digitization thrust coming in the second half of the 2010s.

Despite the maturity of the concept, digital transformation continues to be a focus for many businesses. This is driven by a number of factors - chief among them are growth in digitally enabled devices (Internet of Things) and increasingly sophisticated AI-enabled data analytics. Alongside these factors, EHS functions are experiencing further momentum for digital transformation due to the need to accommodate mounting focus on ESG (environmental, social and governance).

What is the impact of these digital forcing factors on EHS? What we’re seeing with our clients and through our research is the beginning of a new phase of system consolidation, where multi-billion-dollar firms in particular look to simplify a dizzying array of complimentary and overlapping EHS and ESG digital solutions. Although some large organizations have already completed this exercise (and we have supported many firms through this), we have also witnessed multiple organizations decline the challenge of system consolidation due to the work effort and perceived complexity of untangling a network of applications. While there is, indeed, complexity in this undertaking, the emergence of ESG regulations (and its impact on EHS) is placing an elevated premium on data integrity and data traceability. Impacted firms are finding they are unable to support these new requirements with their existing digital architecture.

Large corporates will need support from system integrators to effectively simplify and consolidate their systems. They must also ensure they think carefully about which vendor and application is best placed to support their needs now and into the future. This will spark a new round of competition among vendors, who will be scrambling to ensure they can position themselves as the single vendor of choice and thus avoid being squeezed out of their most lucrative clients.

To find out more, tune into our webinar Building A Business Case For EHS Platform Consolidation And Integration, where we will focus on providing answers to the following critical questions:

• What is the EHS and sustainability digital landscape today?
• Why do we think this is no longer fit for purpose?
• What does best practice now look like for EHS and ESG digital solution architecture?