Digital investments are on the rise and spread more widely throughout organisations than ever before, according to PwC’s 2015 Digital IQTM Survey. The report, PwC’s seventh annual, explores the ability of organisations to use technology to drive business value.
In this year’s study of nearly 2,000 executives across 51 countries – split equally among business and IT executives – PwC identified 10 critical behaviours that translate directly to strong revenue growth and profit margin:
1. The CEO is a champion for digital.
73% of business and IT executives said that their CEO was a champion for digital, a significant increase over the 57% who said they had a CEO champion in 2013.
2. The executives responsible for digital are involved in setting high-level business strategy.
CEOs may set the tone and vision for digital, but those responsible for operationalizing digital, often the CIO or CDO, are instrumental in setting high-level business strategy.
3. Business-aligned digital strategy is agreed upon and shared at the C-level.
Organisations and leaders that are aligned are more likely to maximize investments and can better identify areas of overlap and resource gaps that could derail efforts.
4. Business and digital strategy are well communicated enterprise-wide.
Strategy isn’t complete without engagement by everyone in the organisation. Currently, 69% of companies say that business and digital strategy are shared enterprise-wide and last year that figure was 55% and in 2013 it was 50%.
5. Active engagement with external sources to gather new ideas for applying emerging technologies.
Top-performing companies find digital inspiration everywhere, especially outside their organisation. Innovative companies are much more likely to evaluate many emerging technologies, characterizing their approach to adoption as one that’s purely technology driven (69%), in contrast to the rest of companies (54%).
6. Digital enterprise investments are made primarily for competitive advantage.
An indicator of evolving roles, 68% of digital spending comes from budgets outside of IT’s budget, a significant increase from 47% the prior year.
7. Effective utilization of all data captured to drive business value.
Getting value out of data often means using it to guide strategic decisions like how to grow the business or whether to collaborate with competitors. This remains a challenge for executives, citing specifically behavioral and skills barriers, such as understanding which data to use.
8. Proactive evaluation and planning for security and privacy risks in digital enterprise projects.
As companies add new technologies, customers, partners, devices, and data, there are ever more interdependencies and risks to address. What’s different when it comes to Digital IQ is the level of proactivity required. Businesses need to consistently think about how their cybersecurity strategies can help build brand, competitive advantage, and shareholder value.
9. A single, multi-year digital enterprise roadmap that includes business capabilities and processes as well as digital and IT components.
Progress has ebbed and flowed as digital has become more pervasive in the enterprise while at the same time also more fragmented. Today, 53% of companies have a comprehensive roadmap that includes business capabilities and processes, as well as digital and IT components. Four years ago 63% of companies did.
10. Consistent measurement of outcomes from digital technology investments.
Consistency in measurement is also crucial. Businesses and their boards want to see the value they’re achieving from digital investments. Top-performing companies lead lower performing ones here again (79% vs. 72%).
In this year’s study of nearly 2,000 executives across 51 countries – split equally among business and IT executives – PwC identified 10 critical behaviours that translate directly to strong revenue growth and profit margin:
1. The CEO is a champion for digital.
73% of business and IT executives said that their CEO was a champion for digital, a significant increase over the 57% who said they had a CEO champion in 2013.
2. The executives responsible for digital are involved in setting high-level business strategy.
CEOs may set the tone and vision for digital, but those responsible for operationalizing digital, often the CIO or CDO, are instrumental in setting high-level business strategy.
3. Business-aligned digital strategy is agreed upon and shared at the C-level.
Organisations and leaders that are aligned are more likely to maximize investments and can better identify areas of overlap and resource gaps that could derail efforts.
4. Business and digital strategy are well communicated enterprise-wide.
Strategy isn’t complete without engagement by everyone in the organisation. Currently, 69% of companies say that business and digital strategy are shared enterprise-wide and last year that figure was 55% and in 2013 it was 50%.
5. Active engagement with external sources to gather new ideas for applying emerging technologies.
Top-performing companies find digital inspiration everywhere, especially outside their organisation. Innovative companies are much more likely to evaluate many emerging technologies, characterizing their approach to adoption as one that’s purely technology driven (69%), in contrast to the rest of companies (54%).
6. Digital enterprise investments are made primarily for competitive advantage.
An indicator of evolving roles, 68% of digital spending comes from budgets outside of IT’s budget, a significant increase from 47% the prior year.
7. Effective utilization of all data captured to drive business value.
Getting value out of data often means using it to guide strategic decisions like how to grow the business or whether to collaborate with competitors. This remains a challenge for executives, citing specifically behavioral and skills barriers, such as understanding which data to use.
8. Proactive evaluation and planning for security and privacy risks in digital enterprise projects.
As companies add new technologies, customers, partners, devices, and data, there are ever more interdependencies and risks to address. What’s different when it comes to Digital IQ is the level of proactivity required. Businesses need to consistently think about how their cybersecurity strategies can help build brand, competitive advantage, and shareholder value.
9. A single, multi-year digital enterprise roadmap that includes business capabilities and processes as well as digital and IT components.
Progress has ebbed and flowed as digital has become more pervasive in the enterprise while at the same time also more fragmented. Today, 53% of companies have a comprehensive roadmap that includes business capabilities and processes, as well as digital and IT components. Four years ago 63% of companies did.
10. Consistent measurement of outcomes from digital technology investments.
Consistency in measurement is also crucial. Businesses and their boards want to see the value they’re achieving from digital investments. Top-performing companies lead lower performing ones here again (79% vs. 72%).