Company boards are more likely to embrace digital transformation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey has found. The study, carried out on behalf of engineering, technology and consulting service provider Expleo, also found an increased urgency in implementing such programmes.
Some 88 per cent of business and IT leaders in the Republic said their boards are more likely to approve new digital strategies, with eight out of 10 businesses saying they accelerated digital transformation plans as a result of the pandemic.
The survey was based on answers from more than 1,000 business and IT leaders across Europe and the US, including 110 in Ireland.
The majority of businesses here believe the Government is supportive of their digital transformation needs, while just over half said they will try to improve customer experience through digital transformation and 48 per cent said it will help innovation at their company. Some 45 per cent said they will seek to transform their business model and ways of working.
The Expleo Business Transformation Index also found more than half of organisations face problems implementing a “digital first” culture. However, that figure is lower than elsewhere in Europe, making companies in Ireland less likely to face resistance.
Only 28 per cent said they believe a more cautious approach to implementing digital technologies will lead to success, compared to 54 per cent who believe a bold approach is needed.
To support this. 66 percent of respondents expect to invest more in their technology, increasing their tech budgets by at least 10 per cent in the next five years More than a third said that figure would be over 30 per cent higher.
On the agenda
"Long before Covid-19 was first discovered, digital transformation was already on the agenda for many companies. But from our experience, even the most dynamic, innovative IT departments were facing push-back from their boards of management because they didn't value, or understand, the role digital played in business success," said Phil Codd, managing director for Expleo Ireland.
“One pandemic later, all of that has changed. Organisations have learned that digital was not only critical to survival during the pandemic, but in the aftermath, too. The world has embraced a transformed reality and businesses need to be ready to adapt quickly to changes in market conditions and consumer behaviours to succeed.
