London, UK 24 November 2021 – Expleo, a global engineering, technology and consulting service provider, today announced the results of new research that points to an increased urgency in digital transformation programmes, with 61% of respondents believing that a bold approach to digital technologies will leave them better placed to succeed.
By comparison, just 24% believe that a cautious approach that waits for technology to mature is more likely to lead to success. This proactive mindset is matched by a bullish attitude to investment: 75% of respondents expect to increase tech budgets by at least 10% in the next five years with one in four anticipating an increase in budget of over 30%.
Expleo commissioned a survey of 1,030 business and IT leaders from large organisations across France, Germany, Ireland, the UK and the US to understand the motivations and effectiveness of business transformation projects worldwide. This research informs Expleo’s “Business Transformation Index 2022”, a new report providing a comprehensive analysis of the critical success factors of such programmes.
The research also found that the current market landscape has been a catalyst for accelerated digitalisation already. Of those surveyed, eight in 10 businesses have already accelerated their digital transformation plans due to Covid-19 by an average of 14 months.
A clear link between fast-paced innovation and success
Of those who expect their profits to be significantly higher in the next five years, 64% have implemented transformation projects faster than competitors. By comparison, of those who expect profits to be the same or lower in five years, the trend is reversed with just 36% implementing their transformation strategies faster than competitors.
Business and IT leaders cite improved customer experience as the leading driver for transformation projects: 47% of those surveyed consider it a major focus area for their organisation. This is ahead of traditional financial drivers such as increased productivity (45%), increased profits (41%) and revenue/sales growth (41%).
Main barrier to successful transformation: skills shortage
For those surveyed, the number one barrier to the success of transformation projects is the skills gap and talent shortages (52%), followed by legacy systems not being upgraded (51%), internal IT teams being too stretched (51%) and cybersecurity concerns (51%). When it comes to the skills gap, development roles including scrum masters, DevOps and Agile coaches were identified by 87% as difficult to recruit and retain talent, the most common category.
In response to the skills shortage, investment in training for staff is the number one solution to this problem, in both the short term (45%) and long term (37%). Businesses, however, also understand they need to be more proactive in the adoption of automation. Three-quarters say that it would be a necessity to address the ongoing skills gap. As such, seven out of 10 businesses have at least one form of automation approach – including low-code/no-code, robotics and RPA – as a major focus for the coming 1-2 years.
Rajesh Krishnamurthy, CEO of Expleo, commented: “The past 18 months have put into perspective how quickly orthodoxies can be turned on their heads. Businesses need to be ready to adapt quickly to changes in market conditions and consumer behaviours, and inertia rarely goes unpunished. But transformation isn’t something that can be done half-heartedly either.
“Our research finds that success in transformation is reliant on commitment across all layers of an organisation. It is about boldness of vision at executive level, a more radical digital mindset and culture among employees, the right training to the right talents and teams who can deliver smoothly to demanding timescales. At Expleo, our experts are ready to support on this journey and fast-track innovation through a deep understanding of technology and applied learnings from across industries and markets.”
In addition, Expleo has created its “Bold & Reliable Index” toolwhereorganisations can measure themselves against the nine key criteria outlined in the report. The tool can be found here: https://expleogroup.com/bti-2022/
The “Business Transformation Index 2022” can be downloaded from the Expleo website here https://expleogroup.com/bti-2022-report/
Media Contact
Mark Fowler
Senior Gobal Communications Manager
mark.fowler@expleogroup.com
+44 (0)77 1124 4113
