Digital Enterprise Leaders Realize Greater Performance, According to an Economist Intelligence Unit Survey Sponsored by CSC
October 13 2016 - 10:16AM
Business Wire
C-Level Executives Explore Linkage Between
Digital Transformation and Business Success
Investment in Next-Generation Digital
Technology — Including Applications Services, Cloud, Collaboration
Software, and Mobility — is Seen as Increasing Over the Next Three
Years
Large, global companies that extensively employ digital
technologies see greater performance, efficiencies and
collaboration than companies that have not fully taken advantage of
those technologies, according to a study of senior IT and non-IT
executives conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on
behalf of CSC (NYSE:CSC).
The report, “What Makes Digital Leaders: A Full C-suite
Perspective,” explores the linkage between digital technologies and
business success. It reveals corporate decision-makers’
wide-ranging views on the strategic benefits and operational value
of information technology (IT), current investments in IT, and how
businesses intend to adopt digital technology over the next three
years. More than 500 CEOs, senior IT executives and other C-level
executives from global enterprises participated in the survey.
A select eight percent of respondents were identified as
“digital leaders” because their organizations are entirely digital
across major functions. Digital leaders enjoy distinct advantages:
they far more often view IT as crucial to meeting their companies’
strategic goals, are more often globally integrated than other
companies, and are much more effective at information sharing
across functions and regions. Additionally:
- 37 percent of digital leaders report
their financial performance was much higher than competitors in the
past fiscal year, compared with just 11 percent of respondents at
other companies;
- Digital leaders are ahead of other
companies in prioritizing investments in the public cloud, in
collaboration software and in cloud-based applications
services;
- 63 percent of digital leaders plan to
increase overall IT spending somewhat or significantly in the next
three years, compared with 52 percent of other companies; and
- 44 percent of digital leaders indicate
the CEO is the primary driver of IT strategy, which suggests that
these companies place added emphasis on the importance of
technology in achieving business goals.
“Digital leaders are far more confident than those at other
companies regarding IT’s ability to deliver both the technology and
strategic benefits that will support growth, performance and client
satisfaction,” said Dan Hushon, CSC’s chief technology officer.
“Digital technologies, such as cloud computing and mobile
applications, have the potential to transform fundamentally the way
businesses operate. Companies looking to develop an IT strategy for
the fully digital future could gain valuable insight from the
approaches that have worked so well with these digital
leaders.”
Most Companies Lag in Digital Adoption
While indicating investment in IT will increase over the next
three years, the study found that most companies have yet to fully
take advantage of newer digital technologies. According to those
surveyed, while digital leaders more often put a high value on IT’s
contribution to the organization, many companies regard IT as
operationally helpful but not crucial to strategy. Among
respondents:
- IT is seen as a crucial partner in
meeting their company’s strategic goals at 51 percent of digital
leaders, compared to 27 percent of all executives;
- More than half (54 percent) indicate
that they are becoming more digital to raise efficiencies, and 35
percent see cost-cutting as their primary goal;
- The central IT function controls at
least some of the IT budget at 85 percent of digital leaders,
compared to 63 percent of all executives;
- Slightly more than one-quarter view
digital technology as a way to keep up with new, fully digital
companies, while just 10 percent view technology as a way to
surpass competitors; and
- Surprisingly, while more than one-third
plan to start using cybersecurity tools in the near future,
spending on cybersecurity is lagging far behind other tools despite
the risk associated with cyber breaches.
“In general, the survey found that most companies expect to
become more digital,” said Josselyn Simpson, Americas editorial
director, thought leadership, EIU. “Digital leaders are enjoying
certain advantages, the survey shows, and companies that take a cue
from these pioneers to develop effective linkages between their
business and digital strategies should be able to see similar
improvements.”
Alignment between digital technology and business strategy is a
key theme in nine in-depth interviews that CSC published alongside
the EIU’s survey findings, featuring prominent IT executives from
leaders such as Mastercard Inc., Société Générale, Varroc Lighting
Systems and others.
"We’re transforming the infrastructure with the cloud, which
brings elasticity to our platform. We’re transforming the way our
IT teams deliver services with DevOps. And we’re transforming the
digital architecture in ways that are specific to each group’s
business plan," said Carlos Gonçalves, CIO, Global Banking &
Investor Solutions, Société Générale.
Regional and Key Industry Trends
Respondents from North American companies believe they more
often drive IT strategy than their counterparts in other regions,
and more often that IT is crucial or useful to reaching the
company’s strategic goals. Companies in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa (EMEA) largely see digital investments as a way to drive
efficiency and cost reductions. Respondents from Australia, China,
India and Singapore are embracing mobile technologies to fuel
business growth. Additionally, findings among industry sectors
include these:
- Banking and capital markets companies
are aggressively adopting digital technologies, and their choices
reflect a range of concerns;
- Respondents from healthcare
organizations indicate their companies are focused on becoming more
digital as a competitive necessity rather than as a differentiator;
and
- Insurance industry executives expect
their companies to be much more digital in the years ahead – as
much or more than other companies.
Notes to editors
The EIU report, sponsored by CSC, is based on a survey conducted
in March 2016 of 514 respondents comprising CIOs and senior
executives at companies across a range of industries and geographic
regions. The breakdown by role is as follows:
- 61 CIOs
- 100 other senior IT executives
- 200 C-level executives with other
functional specialties
- 52 senior finance executives
- 51 senior marketing executives
- 50 senior operations executives
Supporting Resources
Media Kit
Slideshow
Report with IT Executive Interviews
Regional and Industry Articles
About CSC
CSC (NYSE:CSC) leads clients on their digital
transformation journeys. The company provides innovative
next-generation technology services and solutions that leverage
deep industry expertise, global scale, technology independence and
an extensive partner community. CSC serves leading commercial and
international public sector organizations throughout the world. CSC
is a Fortune 500 company and ranked among the best corporate
citizens. For more information, visit the company’s website at
www.csc.com.
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CSCSara Herrmann, 571-255-9863Corporate Media
Relationssherrmann@csc.comorNeil DeSilva, 703-245-9700Investor
Relationsneildesilva@csc.com
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