Atos: Digital transformation delays concern CFOs and CIOs
A new research by Atos shows that even though digital transformation is needed for companies to be successful, almost two-third of the participants surveyed said digital initiatives are held back at their company due to barriers such as security and data protection concerns. As a result, CFOs and CIOs fear that their business will fall behind.
Canopy, the Cloud Service Line of IT firm Atos, has recently released a new research into the cloud applications of companies. The research, conducted by Vanson Bourne, surveyed a total of 950 Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Financial Officer (CFOs), and Business Decision Makers (BDMs), in the UK, Germany, France, the US, and The Netherlands, across eleven sectors, including financial services, IT and telecoms, professional services, media, and consumer services.
The research shows that digital transformation is affecting all aspects of companies, including customer service, sales, business development, innovation, product development and talent attraction, and is seen by the respondents as essential for companies to be successful and improve their performance to serve a new class of ‘ultra-connected customer’. “As our survey highlights, digital must be in the DNA of every department to help the business take market share and maximize revenue. From hospitality and retail through to manufacturing, we see that those who are emerging as winners are taking advantage of digital capabilities and innovation to build entirely new revenue streams,” says Jacques Pommeraud, CEO of Canopy.
Digital in the cloud?
Even though 90% of the respondents acknowledged the need for embracing cloud based applications and infrastructure in order to deliver the digital transformation, 64% said that vital digital initiatives were held back by the lack of cloud investment caused by many traditional barriers. Security is mentioned by 50% as a factor hindering cloud investment, data protection concerns is mentioned by 44%, followed by protection of intellectual property (24%), and fears of vendor lock-in (23%). “Trust is one of the most critical factors that customers are demanding from service providers – they need peace of mind that their customer and employee data is held in a safe, secure environment. Our industry must help enterprises overcome the barriers they face especially given the critical role cloud technologies play in driving top-line revenue growth, innovation and talent attraction,” comments Jacques Pommeraud, CEO of Canopy.
The researchers warn that not investing in cloud applications, and hence in digital business transformation, can have severe consequences for businesses, for instance on a company’s revenues. Three out of four participating CFOs, said their business is missing out on revenue as a consequence of not having the right cloud applications and infrastructure in place. Last year, their businesses missed out on an average revenue of €67 million.
Other possible consequences of a lack of digitisation include reduced staff productivity, increased time to market, reduced ability to service customers in new ways, risks of data theft, and a limited ability to launch new products and services. 70% of the CIOs and CFOs fear that their business will become less competitive as a result of the lack of digital initiatives, with 76% estimating this to happen by the end of 2015. If cloud capabilities are in place, the same CFOs expect a double digit growth with an average of €123 million by 2015.
