"IT Transformation can result in bottom-line benefits that drive business differentiation, innovation, and growth" according to research recently conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and announced by Dell EMC. This study aimed to evaluate how today's enterprises are using technology, how they are using it, and the effects they are seeing. The report developed these conclusions:
- 81% of survey respondents agree if they do not embrace IT Transformation, their organization will no longer be competitive in their markets, up from 71% in 2017
- 88% of respondents say their organization is under pressure to deliver new products and services at an increasing rate
- Transformed organizations are 22x as likely to be ahead of the competition when bringing new products and services to market
- Transformed organizations are 2.5x more likely to believe they are in a strong position to compete and succeed in their markets over the next few years
- Transformed companies are 18x more likely to make better and faster data-driven decisions than their competition and are 2x as likely to exceed their revenue goals
This report revealed an interesting new trend - companies are competing more and more by how they use technology. This is easily seen in your workday lunch trip; on a busy day would you be more likely to order lunch from a restaurant that offered easy mobile ordering and payment or one that required you to order at the counter and wait while your food is made and packed? All other variables the same, consumers are demanding more flexibility, convenience, and speed and all of those parameters require technology. And, the business that embraces technology enjoys an additional injection of business data in strong records of user profiles, order history, and a captive market for promotions.
This study, commissioned by Dell EMC, is a followup to a similar study performed last year and is showing that more enterprise decision makers are realizing the importance of IT for their business and reaping the benefits of IT transformations.
“Companies today need to be agile to stay competitive and drive growth, and IT Transformation can be a major enabler of that,” said John McKnight, Vice President of Research, Enterprise Strategy Group. “It’s clear that IT Transformation is increasingly resonating with companies and that senior executives recognize how IT Transformation is pivotal to overall business strategy and competitiveness. While achieving transformation can be a major endeavor, our research shows ‘Transformed’ companies experience real business results, including being more likely to be ahead of the competition in bringing new products and services to market, making better, faster data-driven decisions than their competition, and exceeding their revenue goals.”
The survey respondents were grouped into a variety of IT transformation "maturity stages":
- Stage 1 – Legacy (6%): Falls short on many – if not all – of the dimensions of IT Transformation in the ESG study
- Stage 2 – Emerging (45%): Showing progress in IT Transformation but having minimal deployment of modern data center technologies
- Stage 3 – Evolving (43%): Showing commitment to IT Transformation and having a moderate deployment of modern data center technologies and IT delivery methods
- Stage 4 – Transformed (6%): Furthest along in IT Transformation initiatives
And of those many are working to improve their IT efforts, though the companies in the Transformed category are becoming the most successful in rolling technology initiatives into their workflow. History has shown rewards for businesses willing to embrace technology, and as more adopt new technology the benefits will hopefully be seen across the market.
To read more about this study please see the Dell EMC Press Release.