Digital Evolution - Learning from the leaders in digital transformation

A report from The Economist Intelligence Unit

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Digital transformation is the reinvention of business practices to derive the maximum value from digital technologies such as social media, cloud computing, mobile technology and big data analytics. It is an increasingly debated topic, as executives watch long-established companies being disrupted by digital start-ups and consider how they might avoid the same fate.

This report, sponsored by Accenture and Pegasystems, explores how companies are managing their digital transformation initiatives, their goals, drivers and challenges, and how they are boosting their digital capabilities. It is based on a global survey of 444 executives from the healthcare, finance and telecommunications industries.

The key findings are as follows:

Companies today are spread across a spectrum of digitisation. Around one-third say their business is split evenly between digital and traditional practices, while 10% describe themselves as fully digital. Most companies say their digital processes are only partially integrated with their traditional business functions, and few (5%) claim to be able to present a seamless customer experience across channels throughout the purchase lifecycle. The survey reveals few differences in the extent of digitisation between industries. However, two statistically distinct groups do emerge that are best defined by their behaviour. These groups are described in this report as companies that are ahead of the curve, and those that are behind. Companies that are ahead of the curve tend to have made greater progress in digital transformation, and as a result have seen greater returns.

Evolving customer expectations are the most common driver of digital transformation, while companies that are ahead of the curve are also driven by the pace of innovation and competitive pressure.The growing sophistication of digital consumer technologies, such as smartphones and social media platforms, means that customers have high expectations for their digital interaction with businesses. Half of all survey respondents identify evolving customer expectations as a key driver of their digital transformation initiatives. However, companies that are identified as being ahead of the curve are driven by a wider range of forces. They are more likely to cite the pace of technological change in their industry and growing competitive pressure as drivers than those behind the curve. This shows that digital technology has become a battleground on which many companies are competing for dominance.

The ability to use real-time data features heavily in companies’ digital transformation objectives. When asked which capabilities they hope to improve through digital transformation, 57% of respondents identify the ability to support real-time transactions, more than any other capability. This was especially common among companies that are ahead of the curve. The ability to provide employees with real-time data on any device, and executives with real-time analytics, was also a common objective. This highlights the importance of information management capabilities in digital transformation—described by one executive interviewed for this report as “a foundational underlier” for any such initiative.

IT executives are most likely to have a primary leadership role in digital transformation, but ahead-of-the-curve companies have a more diverse leadership and a higher proportion of chief digital officers. Over half of the survey respondents (52%) report that in their organisation, the chief information officer or chief technology officer holds a primary leadership role in digital transformation. However, this is rarely a one-person job, and at the majority of companies at least two members of senior management have a primary leadership role in digital transformation, reflecting its multi-disciplinary nature. Having a chief digital officer (CDO)—an executive with a specific remit for digital—who takes the lead in digital transformation is more prevalent among companies that are ahead of the curve. However, the role of the CDO is viewed as transitional: digital transformation may benefit from a dedicated leader at the beginning, but the need may fade as digital capabilities are established across the entire organisation.

Companies that are ahead of the curve are more likely to have set up separate digital business units. Four out of ten companies (39%) identify finding the right organisational and governance model for digital transformation as one of their key challenges, making it one of the two most common challenges. The majority of companies have adopted a number of approaches, with the most common among them being a central, strategic initiatives unit that reports to a C-suite executive. However, ahead-of-the-curve companies are more likely to have set up distinct digital business units in order to introduce digital practices without the burden of legacy processes. This, again, is seen as a good way to start but an ultimately transitional measure, which presents the thorny challenge of ensuring that a digital culture takes roots throughout the organisation.

Ahead-of-the-curve companies are also more likely to look outside the organisation to boost their digital capabilities. These companies are more likely to outsource digital processes, to invest in digital start-ups and to form a joint venture or partnership to boost their digital capabilities than those that are behind the curve. Perhaps surprisingly, they are less inclined to invest in their internal capabilities. But the fact that they are more likely to rate the digital transformation capabilities of their company’s functional departments highly suggests that they have started from a stronger position than those that are catching up.

The ultimate aim of digital transformation should be the ability to adapt to any future digital innovation. Digital innovation shows no sign of abating. Just as technologies such as social media, mobile and cloud computing are being accepted as the norm, new sources of disruption appear on the scene—machine learning, virtual reality and cryptocurrencies, to name but a few. These will all have their own, as yet unpredictable, impact on organisations. The ultimate goal of any digital transformation should therefore not be any particular state, but the ability to transform constantly in response to the progress of digital technology.

Full Report - Link: https://digitalevolution.eiu.com/learning-from-the-leaders-in-digital-transformation/exec-summary

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