For digital transformation.
A survey from Fujitsu has identified six key factors that determine the success for digital transformation projects but a lack of skilled staff still remains one of the biggest challenges.
The Fujitsu Future Insights Global Digital Transformation Survey Report 2018 outlines the results of research conducted amongst 1,535 C-level executives and decision makers at enterprises of various sizes across different industries in 16 countries, including Australia. It sought to gain a better understanding of the global state of digital transformation as it related to artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and other advanced technologies.
The six influential factors were leadership, people, agility, business integration, ecosystem and value from data.
For companies that are not 100% internet-based having skilled staff is the number one concern at the planning, testing and implementation phases. Co-creation with technology partners and drawing on their skills and knowledge bases was said to be critical to the success of digital transformation projects.
At the planning stage, other significant challenges were lack of funds and lack of leadership. However, as organisations go through to testing and implementation, cybersecurity risks begin to rise in importance and become a concern.
The survey found that the motivating factors for digital transformation differed across industry sectors. In finance, manufacturing and healthcare, decision makers are primarily motivated by the need to increase operational efficiency while retail companies are driven by a hunger for growth. Many companies are achieving business results from their digital transformation initiatives. Excluding the internet-only businesses, in finance and retail, about 30% of projects have already delivered successful outcomes.
Many business leaders are also positive about the future development of AI, with 68% believing that the future will involve people and AI working collaboratively while 61% are confident the technology will create new jobs.
The finance industry is the furthest advanced in digital transformation initiatives, with results showing that approximately 90% of respondent financial services companies are already engaged in digital transformation with retail on 62%.
Digital transformation, through the deployment of new technologies such as AI and IoT, has progressed from the strategic planning stage to the delivery of concrete business successes. However, the results are far from uniform. The establishment of new digital transformation-based business models and roll out to new businesses, as well as the state of progress and success, vary across industries, so it is imperative to accurately understand the needs and state of digital transformation in each sector.
Fujitsu will leverage these findings to further strengthen its co-creation capabilities to support customers’ digital transformation.