Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 18 | Page 26

TRENDING diving into execution before understanding what to change first. In fact, more than eight out of 10 (82%) C-suite executives admit they do not review their internal business processes to understand what needs to be prioritised when setting initial goals and KPIs for a transformation programme. Perhaps this is because they don’t know how to gain this visibility; almost two-thirds (65%) of leadership state they would feel more confident deploying their transformation strategy if they had a better picture of how their business is being run. And this trend has trickled down to the entire organisation. The research shows that almost two-fifths (39%) of analysts are not basing their work on internal processes when executing the transformation strategy given to them by senior personnel. Ultimately, this highlights that business leaders are investing in transformation initiatives because they think they should and not because they have identified a specific problem. Look too far ahead and stumble in the present Despite acknowledgement that an understanding of the here and now would 26 INTELLIGENTCIO be beneficial to inform transformation strategy, businesses are still jumping straight into tactics. For example, almost three quarters of C-suite executives cite AI/ Machine Learning (73%) and automation (73%) as areas they want to maintain or increase investment in. initiatives that they do not necessarily even need to embark on. They are falling at the first hurdle; having a better understanding of inefficiencies in underlying business processes can help organisations invest wisely to provide the best possible service for their customers.” In contrast, less than a third (33%) of senior leaders state that they plan to invest more in gaining better visibility of their processes. But for those organisations that want to increase their investment in AI and innovation, understanding their current processes first could help them to work out which technologies would be most beneficial to their business. “From early stages in Digital Transformation to post transformation, organisations must understand how internal processes can shape their business strategy,” added Jeremy Cox, Principal Analyst, Ovum. “Transformation strategies will inevitably be part of every organisation’s operations because no business can avoid adapting to the latest industry and technological trends,” commented Alexander Rinke, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Celonis. “However, they should be founded in concrete insights derived from processes that are actually happening within a company. Our research shows that too many businesses are rushing into costly “Quantifying the business impact of existing or newly adapted processes can help optimise the environment for customers. Ovum’s annual global ICT Enterprise Insights research based on around 5,000 enterprises reveals a consistent picture of struggle, as industry by industry around 80% have made little progress. “While there are many reasons for this difficulty, a forensic examination on how work gets done, aided by intelligent process mining technology, would help quantify the consequences and drive consensus on what must change.” n www.intelligentcio.com