Businesses Share Digital Transformation Practices That Are Already Delivering Results (Part 1)

On May 14, the Business Technology Expo 2026 hosted the Business Digital Transformation Conference at the EXPO International Exhibition Center in Astana.

One of the forum’s key sessions, “Digital Business Processes,” was moderated by Yuliya Yakupbayeva, Partner at GPI Group and Chair of the GreenUrban Association.

The session focused on practical approaches that enable companies to turn digitalization into an effective tool for business management, customer service, and operational efficiency.

Speakers presented successful case studies from digital banking, telecommunications, mining and metals, hospitality, agriculture, and document management. They shared practical experience, management decisions, key takeaways, and even the lessons behind successful digital transformation initiatives.

Nariman Mukushev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at Halyk Bank, answered questions about the bank’s digital ecosystem, including:

• How does the bank build a unified digital environment around customers’ everyday services?
• Why have government services on banking platforms already become a commodity?
• Why does an ecosystem approach drive banks toward developing travel services, digital identity, and lifestyle offerings?

One of the key conclusions from the case study was the critical role of a unified digital identity. According to the speaker, Halyk ID shortens the customer journey to services and enables faster scaling of new products across the bank’s ecosystem.

The next case focused on the digitalization of internal processes in the industrial sector. Yelena Zaburdyayeva, Head of the BTS Department at BTS LLP, the IT subsidiary of the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) mining and metals holding, presented a project to implement an in-house electronic timesheet system across 22 enterprises and more than 64,000 employees.

By addressing one of its key operational challenges through digital transformation, the company exceeded its original KPIs. The time required to finalize timesheets was reduced from five to three days, payroll recalculations decreased by 90%, and the project generated savings of more than KZT 600 million compared to implementing an off-the-shelf SAP solution.

The second part of the article, covering customer service transformation and the digitalization of ESG processes, is available here: https://gpi.kz/en/news/digitalization-becomes-a-tool-for-customer-retention-and-esg-risk-management