Spurring Digital Transformations Forward

For some organizations, getting a grip on their digital transformations is akin to chasing down a greased pig at the county fair.

A survey of managers and executives by MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte Digital found that 87% of the respondents believed that their industries would be disrupted by digital trends "to a great or moderate extent." But only 44% said their organizations were adequately prepping for those incoming disruptions.

The survey found that most companies' digital transformations were hamstrung "by a lack of resources, a lack of talent, and the pull of other priorities, leaving executives to manage digital initiatives that either take the form of projects or are limited to activities within a given division, function, or channel."

To overcome these obstacles, the research said that nearly 90% of digitally maturing organizations -- companies in which digital technology has transformed processes, talent engagement and business models -- were blending their digital strategies with their companies' overall strategies.

The survey and research also advised that companies needed to prepare for their digital transformation futures by strengthening their company cultures and developing talent, mainly internally.

Almost 80% of respondents from digitally maturing companies said they were actively engaged in efforts to increase risk taking, agility and collaboration. On the flip side, just 23% of companies at the early stages of digital development were doing so.

The survey was conducted in the fall of last year, and included executives in 131 countries and 27 industries across organizations of various sizes. All told, more than 3,700 business executives, managers and analysts took part in the survey.

"Digital transformation" for service providers, enterprises and IT departments has been a key area of coverage for Telco Transformation. (See Hurdling Digital Transformation Obstacles , The State of Digital Transformations and Survey: 40% of Businesses Aren't Ready for Digital Transformation.)

— Mike Robuck, Editor, Telco Transformation