Staff crucial to digital transformation execution, report says

While a majority of companies are working towards strengthening digital strategies, there is still have room for improvement, according to tech services firm Globant, who has released the findings from its "Cutting Through the Chaos: How to Bring Success to Digital Transformation Initiatives" report.

The report explores where organisations are in terms of digital maturity, as well as the barriers keeping them from successfully leading strong digital initiatives.

The study found that while 87% of organisations are currently pursuing a digital transformation initiative, less than a third (28%) of companies say they're innovative and their digital maturity is cutting edge.

"Our research aims to help decision makers determine gaps when it comes to sustainable digital maturity," explains Diego Tártara, CTO Business Hacking Studio at Globant.

"Digital transformation must come from the inside-out, and having employees at the centre of digital investments is absolutely crucial if the hope is to build a culture that embraces new technology and aims to have an augmented organisation," he says.

Key findings from the report include:

• Collaboration is a top priority. Decision makers highlight the ability to interact and collaborate across departments (52%) as the most valuable capability to help organisations successfully execute internal digital initiatives.
• Employee experiences should rank high among future priorities. By 2025, the top motivators to adopt new technologies will include using data more intelligently (44%), improving the end-user experience (44%) and driving cost efficiencies (35%). Improving internal employees' experiences is currently low on the list of motivators (27%), indicating a need for added focus moving forward.
• Employee input is key to success. A third of organisations (33%) believe that employees impacted by digital transformation initiatives should be aware of changes from day one, while 43% loop employees in once a strategy is in place.
• C-level execs usually lead digital initiatives. The C-suite leads internal digital initiatives more than two-thirds of the time (69%), with the CTO (25%), CEO (17%) and CIO (13%) leading the charge. 
• Digital maturity remains an important goal. When it comes to digital maturity, most companies (51%) say they're evolving, but still feel outdated compared to competitors.

"If organisations hope to lead successful transformational initiatives, they must take a holistic look at their organisation and potential business opportunities," says Emiliano Horcada, Digital Transformation Partner at Globant.

"Orsanisations must avoid giving into short term, hype-based solutions," he says.

"They should move to tangible action that can compound value in true transformational roadmaps – providing a comprehensive future strategy, an actionable plan for the short-term, and a measurable impact for the business and the people involved in the pursuit. In this era, transformation is constant and tangible."