Future IT Report: Fear of digital transformation on the wane

Almost half of the companies in German-speaking countries have already been able to improve their market position by integrating digitization into their strategy. This is shown by the current Future IT Report from Campana & Schott. 182 employees of large and medium-sized companies from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other countries participated in the survey across a broad spectrum of industries.

Future IT Report finds improvement in market positions

In the future, almost two-thirds expect an improvement in their market position as a result of digital transformation. The high complexity of the IT infrastructure as well as data protection and data security are among the biggest hurdles to digital transformation for those surveyed. These are the findings of the Future IT Report 2020 by Campana & Schott and the University of Duisburg-Essen. In the context of the study, digital transformation means the use of technological innovations with disruptive consequences for business.

"The results of the study impressively show that the topic of digitization has now reached all companies. But they also show that many companies are not yet close enough to their customers to develop digital solutions that fit them perfectly. In addition, there are still the challenges of culture and competence," says Prof. Dr. Frederik Ahlemann, Chair of Information Systems and Strategic IT Management at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Since digitization influences both the internal and external organization of the company, it forms a strategic task for top management. Four out of five respondents stated that the CEO is the responsible driving force for digital transformation. However, digitization also has a major impact on business models. Where two-thirds of the companies surveyed see their existing model being promoted, one in five is threatened by it.

The biggest obstacles

The biggest hurdles to digital transformation include data protection and IT security, complex IT infrastructure, high investment and operating costs, and neglect of digitization in the education and training system. Among other things, this point in particular leads to a lack of corresponding skilled workers. Almost half of the companies do not have the necessary expertise. To remedy the shortage of skilled workers, they rely primarily on further training for their employees before new hires and service providers. But in practice, only half of the companies provide internal offerings for continuing education.

In addition, employees in more than a third of all companies are skeptical about change. One possible cause is a poor error culture. Only slightly more than half of the companies deal with mistakes constructively and positively. Often, employees can neither act on their own responsibility and initiative nor contribute their own ideas. In almost every third company, there is no open, direct and regular communication. This can be improved through cooperation with other organizations. In particular, collaborations with startups can establish a fresh and innovative corporate culture.

The customer in focus

As a result of the digital transformation, customers are placing ever higher expectations on companies' products, services and processes. This is particularly true with regard to their availability, speed and reliability. "However, less than half of the companies have already been able to successfully increase customer satisfaction in the course of digitization," explains Sven Kreimendahl, Director Business Technology Services. "This is achieved, for example, by involving customers more closely in processes, for example as part of innovation projects."

Accordingly, higher customer satisfaction is one of the most important goals of digitization - along with increased efficiency through the automation of processes and improved quality. Time savings and the development of new or improved digital products and services are also important. However, most of the goals have not yet been achieved.

Source: Campana & Schott