Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 20 | Page 22

THIS SURVEY UNDERSCORES THE TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY THAT MAXIMISING DIGITAL PERFORMANCE CAN HAVE ON THE USER EXPERIENCE .
TRENDING

THIS SURVEY UNDERSCORES THE TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY THAT MAXIMISING DIGITAL PERFORMANCE CAN HAVE ON THE USER EXPERIENCE .

for their customers and employees . Those who hesitate to embrace digital strategies and processes will quickly fall by the wayside and those who drive digital performance will see significant business outcomes .”
Awareness is high , need is immediate
The need for companies to provide a successful digital experience for customers , partners and employees is well recognised and it continues to grow in importance . Some 91 % of global business decision makers agree that providing a successful digital experience is even more critical to the company ’ s bottom line than it was just three years ago .
Likewise , 99 % of global business decision makers believe their company would benefit from improving the performance of their company ’ s digital services and applications . They see this happening primarily through improved customer or user experience and satisfaction ( 53 %); greater market agility ( 49 %); increased revenue , sales and profitability ( 49 %); increased employee productivity ( 49 %) and faster time to market ( 48 %).
Hurdles to implementing a digital strategy are real
However , it is widely recognised that inadequately performing systems are a key
Subbu Iyer , CMO , Riverbed Technology
limitation to a successful digital strategy . In fact , of the 95 % of global business decision makers who said they face significant challenges when it comes to achieving a more successful digital strategy , most cited multiple challenges including budget constraints ( 51 %); overly complex or rigid legacy IT infrastructure ( 45 %); lack of full visibility across the digital or end user experience ( 40 %); lack of available or appropriately-skilled personnel ( 39 %) and lack of buy-in from leadership on prioritising digital initiatives ( 37 %).
And of the nearly 80 % reporting that critical digital services and applications are failing at least a few times per month and impacting productivity and the end user experience , nearly one in four experience failures at least several times a week . Half of the survey respondents said the maximum acceptable time to resolve digital performance issues is within an hour and nearly 20 % said within minutes , recognising a digital service failure can cost companies millions of dollars in lost revenue and significantly impact customer loyalty and brand reputation .
Business leaders are aware of the impact these failures can and are having on their businesses . The consequences expressed include loss of sales and revenue ( 42 %); delayed product launches ( 41 %); loss of customers ( 41 %); loss of brand loyalty ( 41 %) and loss of employee productivity ( 40 %).
Investing to maximise digital performance
Smart business leaders are looking to put greater emphasis on the management tools and infrastructure underlying digital services . In fact , 99 % say that visibility across the digital experience is critical to measure and manage it successfully and 98 % of global business decision makers believe that a modern IT architecture that delivers greater agility is important to improving digital performance .
Businesses also say the time to act is now . More than three out of four , or 77 % of global business decision makers , say it is critical that their company invest in improving the digital experience for users or customers in the next 12 months . The key areas business decision makers see themselves making investments in the next 12 months include modernising networks and infrastructure to drive greater agility ( 60 %); ability to better monitor and manage the end user ’ s digital experience ( 59 %); improving service desk capabilities ( 59 %) and accelerating development of applications ( 58 %).
A significant number of business decision makers also identified cloud solutions and emerging technologies as key drivers of the digital experience moving forward .
Nearly all , 99 %, of global business decision makers believe the use of cloud technology is important to their companies ’ ongoing digital strategy and business leaders would like their companies to invest in emerging technologies such as : Data Analytics ( 60 %); Internet of Things ( 59 %); Blockchain Technology ( 48 %); Machine Learning ( 47 %); Artificial Intelligence ( 47 %); Virtual Reality ( 36 %) and 5G Networks ( 21 %). •

AWARENESS IS HIGH , NEED IS IMMEDIATE .

22 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com