Once a business decides to explore digitalisation, the next question usually arrives very quickly.

“Where do we start?”

This is often followed by a pause, a few uncertain suggestions, and eventually someone saying, “Maybe we should just do everything.”

That enthusiasm is understandable. It is also a good way to make the whole exercise feel overwhelming before it even begins.

Most successful digital journeys do not start with ambition. They start with irritation.

The best first candidates are usually the small, daily problems. The spreadsheet that no one fully trusts. The report that always needs explanation. The approval that seems simple but somehow takes days. The data that exists in three versions, depending on who you ask.

These are not dramatic failures. They are quiet, persistent friction. And friction is where digital tools deliver the fastest and most visible benefits.

A good first digital project often goes unnoticed in meetings. People simply realise that something has stopped being annoying.

Visibility is another gentle place to begin. Clearer tracking, simpler reporting, and cleaner summaries often change decision-making without changing behaviour. When people can see what is happening, they naturally work better.

Automation also helps in very ordinary ways. Moving data between systems. Generating routine reports. Sending reminders. None of this will appear in marketing brochures, but all of it saves time that people quietly appreciate.

Just as important is knowing what not to touch.

Some processes already work well. Some conversations are better kept human. Some flexibility disappears when forced into rigid systems. Leaving these alone is not resistance. It is judgement.

It also helps to avoid digitising anything that is not yet understood. When a process feels confusing today, it will feel confusing tomorrow, just faster and with better colours.

Understanding tends to age better than automation.

There is no obligation to modernise everything at once. Businesses change at different speeds. Teams absorb change differently. Some habits deserve patience. Others deserve improvement. The difference usually becomes clear once you start paying attention.

When we work with SMEs at Bynry Foundry, we often begin with very simple discussions:
• Which tasks feel heavier than they should?
• Which steps require too much checking?
• Which information arrives too late to be useful?

The answers rarely involve technology. They involve people, time, and confidence.

From there, digitalisation becomes less about systems and more about relief.

There is no finish line to aim for. Only a sequence of small improvements that make the business easier to run.

Start with what slows you down.

Leave alone what already flows.

Everything else can wait its turn.