Business leaders not ready for digital future

Business leaders nearly universally agree that new technologies have changed the face of business, but few feel ready for the digital future, an EMC survey shows.

Almost all (96%) of the 3600 business leaders polled for the study believe that new technologies have forever changed the rules of business and 93% report that technology advancements are resetting customer expectations.

Respondents from 18 countries including Australia also agree on five business attributes that will be fundamental to the digital future, all of which have information at their core.

Business leaders believe that to be a disrupter and avoid disruption, companies must predictively spot new market opportunities; demonstrate transparency and trust; innovate in agile ways; deliver unique and personalised experiences; and operate in real time.

But few business leaders believe that their companies address these attributes well. Only 23% said they can predict new opportunities, just 22% operate in agile ways organisation-wide and 26% operate in real time.

Australia is ahead of the global curve, with 35% of local respondents rating their ability to predictively spot new opportunities, 24% responding that they are innovating in an agile way organisation-wide and 36% operating in real time.

The survey also suggests that businesses are struggling to extract the most value from their data.

Globally, 49% of respondents admit to not knowing how to turn all of their data into actionable information and 52% state that they do not use their data effectively or are drowning in information overload.

“With 70% of Australian business leaders believing that IT megatrends have changed consumer behaviour, it’s essential that our business models transform as well,” Clive Gold, EMC director of healthcare, said.

“We hope the Information Generation survey will motivate business leaders to take stock. By focusing on the five ‘make-or-break’ business attributes identified, they will be able to leverage the new disruptive technologies to meet the demands of the Information Generation.”

Image courtesy of Hartwig HKD under CC