A large majority of businesses will increase their investments in digital technology over the coming year, and many expect IT modernization to fuel future transformation efforts that lead to cost savings and greater profitability.
That is the finding of a recent global survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that was commissioned by IT services provider DXC Technology. The survey of 621 senior executives worldwide conducted in September and October 2018 showed that 83 percent expect their organizations to increase their digital investments in 2019, and more than 40 percent predict that their organizations will increase their investments by 11 percent or more.
About half of the organizations surveyed have digitally enabled just three key organizational functions, according to the research. When asked to cite the top barriers to transformation, more than one third (35 percent) said “cost or lack of funding,” second only to security concerns (cited by 40 percent).
Most of the organizations (76 percent) expect the cost savings from IT services modernization to help fund their digital strategy. Within the next three years, they intend to ramp up their efforts, and more than half of the respondents (58 percent) expect every business unit to be digitally enabled in the next three years.
More than two thirds of the respondents (68 percent) said the annual profitability of their organizations has increased over the past three years, thanks to their organizations’ digital strategy. About three quarters said they expect it to rise over the next three years.
