Achieving digital maturity

July 3, 2017
When it comes to achieving digital transformations across the world's various industries, it is decision-makers working in aviation and construction and contracting who consider their respective businesses to be advancing toward "digital maturity," while those working in oil and natural gas think their industry trails behind.

When it comes to achieving digital transformations across the world's various industries, it is decision-makers working in aviation and construction and contracting who consider their respective businesses to be advancing toward "digital maturity," while those working in oil and natural gas think their industry trails behind.

This was among the key findings of a recent survey of 750 executives from 16 countries-including more than 120 individuals in North America. The survey was commissioned by enterprise applications firm IFS.

Research firm Raconteur conducted the in-depth interviews for the survey, which spanned the globe including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, China, Japan, Australia, India, the Netherlands, and countries in Scandinavia and the Middle East.

The IFS Digital Change Survey also found that companies in North America in particular-while identifying "internal process efficiency" as the No. 1 driving force behind their digital transformations-are investing time and money into three main areas: big data and analytics, 46%; enterprise resource planning (ERP), 41%; and the internet of things (IoT), 37%.

Among the industries polled, the share of companies that considered themselves to be advanced in leveraging their digital transformation broke out as follows: aviation, 44%; construction and contracting, 39%; manufacturing, 29%; service, 23%; and oil and gas, 19%. When all industries were considered, 31% of those surveyed thought that they were advancing.

Digital urgency

Firms worldwide seem to understand the urgency of digital transformation, noted Antony Bourne, vice-president of global industry solutions, IFP.

"In fact," Bourne said, "more than three quarters of North American respondents, alone, either 'agree' or 'strongly agree' that their company has the culture and structure in place to adapt quickly and effectively to digital transformation." This compares with a little more than half, 56%, of respondents who said the same globally.

North American survey respondents commented that the main obstructions to digital transformation have been aversion to change and security threats and concerns, both at 36%, followed closely by lack of standard processes and legislation and compliance, both at 35%.

According to the survey, North American firms are plotting their digital transformations using several strategies, including: training existing talent, 61%; investing in digital resources, technologies, and assets, 46%; and through external recruitment, about 39%.

Notable findings

A notable majority, almost 90%, of those firms surveyed reported having "adequate" or "advantageous" funding for their digital transformations, which, IFS said, indicates "a strong willingness to invest and an appetite to evolve their business in order to stay competitive and grow."

Bourne noted, "Technologies such as big data and analytics, [ERP], and [IoT] are paramount to transforming a business. Companies need to apply innovative technologies hand-in-hand with their relevant industry expertise to succeed and gain a competitive edge."

The survey found, however, that North American oil and gas companies in particular are slower to adopt big data and IoT, citing that these firms "don't have as much faith in the potential of big data and the IoT as other industries." Nearly 14% of respondents from the US and Canada ranked big data and IoT as "below average," compared with only 4% of global companies with this rank.

Interestingly, the survey found that more than a third of companies, 34%, felt either "slightly" or "totally" unprepared to deal with digital transformation due to a "talent deficiency." When asked to clarify the areas that would experience the greatest deficit in talented staff, 40% cited "business intelligence" and 39% "cyber security."

"Although new technology is key to digital transformation, it is clear that change communications and access to the right talent are principal catalysts to succeed," Bourne noted. "It is alarming that more than one in three companies are not staffed to manage digital transformation. These organizations need to focus on concrete talent investment plans to make sure that they establish what roles are critical to success in their industries. After that the key is both to find and attract new talent as well as training and re-skilling existing staff."