We regularly review the latest studies on digital transformation, and this is not by chance or whim. This combination, which has been used regularly in recent years, is increasingly taking the definitive form of a passport to the future. Those who are unable or unwilling to go through the process have only one destination: an increasingly difficult survival until their total disappearance. The current goal of the most powerful companies is not to lead the market, but to be digital leaders.
This is a reality endorsed by at least four out of five C-level executives and employees in a recent survey conducted by Masergy, a company specializing incloud computing andsecurity. For 78% of those surveyed, digital transformation is literally "necessary for survival." Until very recently, the usual response was "necessary to keep up." Not anymore. Today, it is a matter of life and death.
That is why one of the biggest changes being detected is the focus on return on investment (ROI), which has so often been used as a reason (or excuse) for not embarking on the process. Here too, the tide has turned, and today three out of five decision-makers in companies assume, understand, or even commit to medium- and long-term ROI. Above all, they seek a return that is more strategic than tactical. Even so, almost half (39%) are still looking for an immediate or quick return on their investments in digital transformation.
And this, the return now, today, is an incorrect approach, at least according to the data in this study. Digital Transformation is a cultural change based on sustained long-term leadership, not asingle-shot action from which quick success can be expected.
Another striking aspect of this survey is the expected benefits of digital transformation. This is particularly noteworthy, given that the top response is closely related to one of BRAINTRUST's areas ofexpertise: customer experience. Since 2018, Customer Experience has surpassed price and all other decisive purchasing factors in brand differentiation, so it is only natural that it should be a priority for all executives, whatever their business, and especially those closely related to Customer Experience. This is followed by three other benefits that are practically tied: remaining competitive; streamlining business processes; and enabling new business models.
Alongside long-term projections for return on investment, it is striking that cost savings have fallen down the list of benefits. Both senior executives and IT managers believe that prioritizing savings in this area creates a vision of business "stagnation" rather than growth. Digital transformation will undoubtedly generate cost savings for companies that embrace it, but that is no longer the main reason for embarking on this path.
Looking at specific areas of action, and limiting these processes to the purely technological side, the main investments are directed towards the cloud, security, and analytics; on average, each of these accounts for one-third of the main investments in technology, followed by mobility, unified communications, and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Virtual Reality (VR).
These are logical investments if we correctly identify where companies' main pain points lie. While migration to the cloud (37% of investments on average) enables rapid improvements in infrastructure and applications, security (35%) is essential in order to address legal and reputational issues. On the other hand, data analysis and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are vectors for finding relevant information for decision-making, since the volume of information is so vast that the use of algorithms has become practically mandatory.
As for the main obstacles to digital transformation processes, the responses are in line with what we have seen in previous years: budget allocations and lack of support from management. All this despite the fact that, as we have seen above, there is growing awareness of the need to address change and incorporate it into the dynamics of companies. In this regard, it should be noted that it is one thing to know that certain processes must be carried out, but quite another to understand the meaning they should be given in a scenario of increasing competitiveness.
In addition, there is a lack of digital skills and growing mistrust of traditional service providers. Regarding the former, less than 4 out of 10 respondents (39%) believe that talent can be found within the company. Regarding the latter, almost 6 out of 10 (57%) openly state that they prefer smaller providers, as they are more agile. And when it comes to transformation, when the market has been working on it for some time, those who have not taken the appropriate steps need, above all, speed.
Photo byLukas BlazekonUnsplash
