Half of Australian businesses unprepared for digital transformation

IFS has revealed the findings of a survey of senior decision-makers from companies ranging across industrial manufacturing, construction, retail, oil and gas, automotive, energy and utilities and other industries. 86% of global respondents (Australia: 81%) think that digital transformation will play a key role in their market, but 40% (Australia: 50%) lack a strategy for it.

Almost 500 respondents in more than 20 countries (Australia: 31 respondents) were surveyed to gather insights about their thoughts on digital transformation. Respondents included senior decision-makers such as CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CFOs and CMOs etc.

Internal responsibilities for digital transformation

When asked who within the company has responsibility for driving digital transformation, global respondents call out the CIO (40% of respondents, Australia: 31%), the CEO (39%, Australia: 31%) and the CFO (35%, Australia: 56%), while the CTO (20%, Australia: 9%) and the CMO (6%, Australia: 0%) are not considered as influential in this area.

When C-suite leaders answer who owns digital transformation, they often point to themselves. 53% of global CEOs surveyed consider that they are themselves responsible. The corresponding numbers for CFOs and CIOs are 69% and 63% respectively.

High priority but no clear strategy

86% of global respondents (Australia: 81%) say that digital transformation will play a key role in their market in the coming five years, but at the same time, 76% (Australia: 72%) answer that they need more information about digital transformation. Many companies have not come far when it comes to implementing strategies — 40% of the respondents (Australia: 50%) answer that they don’t have a clear strategy for digital transformation.

Technologies driving digital transformation

When asked to rate several disruptive technologies’ importance in driving digital transformation in the respondents’ industries, the following ratings were given on a scale of 1–100, where 1 is unimportant and 100 is very important:

• Internet of Things: 59 (Australia: 53)
• Cloud computing: 59 (Australia: 60)
• Cognitive computing: 55 (Australia: 53)
• Machine learning: 53 (Australia: 44)
• Wearable technology: 48 (Australia: 38)
• 3D printing: 42 (Australia: 39)
• Drone technology: 37 (Australia: 35)

Regional differences

The survey reveals a number of regional differences regarding the view of internal responsibilities.

Among the various regions, in the US and Australia, the CFO is believed to drive digital transformation (US: 42%, Australia: 56%). Less than a third (US: 30%, Australia: 31%) think that it is the CEO who is responsible, the two lowest CEO scores out of all the regions. Interestingly, Asian respondents are the most uncertain, where 29% answer that they don’t know who within the organisation owns digital transformation.

“This survey shows that senior leaders of large industries have realised the potential that digital transformation offers but in many cases haven’t got a strategy in place to leverage it yet. It appears that there is also great uncertainty regarding who is actually responsible for driving the digital transformation agenda within companies. Companies must clarify their goals and outline clear strategies in order to utilise the full potential of digital transformation,” said Mark Boulton, CMO at IFS.

“I was surprised that only 50% of respondents in Australia and New Zealand said they had a clear strategy for digital transformation — less than any other region surveyed, including ASEAN, Benelux, Brazil, China, Finland, Poland, Scandinavia and the US," said Rob Stummer, managing director, IFS Australia & New Zealand. “We see tremendous innovation in a range of local industries, but the question is, is it enough to remain globally competitive in this era of disruptive change?”