Digital Transformation: A Familiar Trend Among CIOs Worldwide
Over 700 IT leaders respond to Logicalis’ fourth annual Global CIO Survey
In an earlier blog, Logicalis explored the importance of a comprehensive digital transformation strategy, drawing on the results of a revealing study with more than 700 CIOs from across 24 countries.
The transformation digital enablement is bringing to businesses around the globe has been characterized by some experts as the fourth Industrial Revolution. With the emergence of innovative new business models based on digital technologies, it’s clear that this new digital era is rich with opportunity.
However, the digital economy also carries with it many risks. Traditional businesses are being challenged by creative startups born in the Internet age, but things are changing quickly. According to the fourth annual Logicalis Global CIO Survey, 28 percent of businesses globally fall into the innovators or early adopters categories, while 19 percent of businesses agree that the Internet of Things (IoT) is already a reality that is affecting their business today.
Decide Your Fate
As a result, businesses today have a choice to make: They can take control of the wheel or coast along in the slow lane and let the Ubers of this world take over. William Shakespeare once said, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves.” In layman’s terms: We must chart our own course.
Despite a preponderance of businesses in the last three groups of a traditional innovation adoption curve, the Global CIO study shows that innovators outnumber laggards and the late majority accounts for less than a quarter of all businesses.
Furthermore, 73 percent of firms worldwide say they are already digitally enabled to some extent. This means we’re heading in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go.
Challenger or Challenged?
Why do businesses need to transform? Just as Darwin noticed in nature, it is also true in business that the strong, the adaptable, the organizations able to evolve and change are the ones destined to survive. As such, the next wave in this digital revolution will usher in a new lineup of movers and shakers. Businesses can either choose to be a challenger, or relegate themselves to being challenged.
We’re at a tipping point today. More and more “dumb” devices are becoming smart. According to Cisco, over the next five years, global IP networks will support up to 10 billion new devices and connections, increasing from 16.3 billion in 2015 to 26.3 billion by 2020. As this digital revolution grows, customers are demanding significantly more in terms of instant, personalized services. And, as each customer demand is met, new expectations arise.
Chris Gabriel, Logicalis’ Chief Digital Officer, notes that as digital innovation accelerates and new competitors emerge, organizations will need to adopt new digitally driven business models, scaling quickly to meet the challenges posed by digital disrupters in every industry. That’s why it’s critical to begin preparing now. Most organizations can’t meet these fast-paced, growing demands on their own. Digital innovation is often far more challenging for existing organizations than it is for startups, making it harder for traditional businesses to compete; digital innovation in traditional business must, therefore, be augmented by technology which means automation has a crucial role to play as the digital story progresses.
A Lesson in History
In every Industrial Revolution, there are winners and losers. During the Industrial Revolution in America, many people who worked with their hands rapidly found themselves struggling to compete with machines that could do the same jobs faster and more economically. Things changed, and they changed quickly.
The same can be said for the digital revolution taking place today – it is creating a new digitally enabled world – which means it’s up to businesses to determine their own expiration dates based on the steps they’re taking to ready themselves for the changes inherent in the coming digital economy.
Want to learn more? Compare this year’s results to the third annual 2015 Logicalis CIO survey, “The Shadow IT Phenomenon” here: http://ow.ly/tJgm3057hwP. And, if you’re looking for trends, explore Logicalis’ 2014 CIO report, “Establishing the Internal Service Provider,” as well as the 2013 report, “Embracing a New IT Reality.” Learn more about the service-defined digital transformation organizations worldwide are undergoing in this WatchIT video featuring Logicalis US CEO Vince DeLuca: http://ow.ly/IJ0Y3057pQC. And finally, read a Logicalis white paper: “Why Every CEO Wants to Lead a Service-Defined Enterprise and Why the CIO Needs to Make It Happen”: http://ow.ly/rp6e3057hMN.