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For example, a company that has been using traditional mail can switch to e-mail. I want a generic term for such migrations (other example, tracking system, scheduling, etc.). Perhaps also Question & Answer systems ;)

I heard of automatization but it is not exactly what I want here, because the new process might still require manual human actions, it's just that it's computer based so there's less hassle. I'm not sure whether computerization is a valid word and what it means..

Any ideas?

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    I'd vote for progress :)
    – Daniel
    Commented Sep 15, 2011 at 23:24
  • IT-based systems are still manual, they just break with a speed unrealizable by human beings alone.
    – jbelacqua
    Commented Sep 16, 2011 at 6:38

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Computerization is indeed a fitting term for this:

Computerize is defined as:

2. to equip with or automate by computers: to computerize a business.

Automatization is an uncommon form of the word automation, which serves as well; it means

the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.

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I would say automation, rather than automatization, is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services, including tracking systems and scheduling. It is defined as greatly reducing the need for human interaction, rather than replacing it.

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    P.S. With this definition, you can describe the degree of automation as the amount of manual work that computers have replaced. For example, the degree of automation in the car manufacturing industry has increased considerably this past decade.
    – Bill
    Commented Sep 15, 2011 at 23:44
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Perhaps a transition to digital from analog? Digitization might do the trick:

The action or process of digitizing; the conversion of analogue data (esp. in later use images, video, and text) into digital form. (OED)

Digitizing refers to the actual process of converting data, but it might work in a broader, more general sense of moving to a different technology. Wikipedia quotes a textbook author as saying that digitization "allows information of all kinds in all formats to be carried with the same efficiency and also intermingled"--a process that sounds a bit like what you're describing.

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  • Strictly speaking, digitizing means to simply capture an analog signal in digital form as explained in the following wiki link. It should not be confused with the process of automation (at least in my opinion).
    – Bill
    Commented Sep 16, 2011 at 2:23
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Not easy to find a single word for effective technologicalization.

"modernize" is a perennial favorite.

"automation" sounds a bit dated to me, unless you're talking about an actual shift from manual work (word done by hand) to an increase in things like assembly line automation after the industrial revolution.
It seems pretty reasonable though, as it should be understood in context.

"computerization" isn't horrible, though it seems only somewhat newer, maybe 1950s or '60s in the US.

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