DigiBarometer 2018 on Board of Directors Competencies
Only 38 percent of SMEs believe their board of directors has sufficient knowledge about digital transformation, according to the DigiBarometer. The Chief Digital Community (CDC) consulting platform conducted the survey for the first time in collaboration with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The survey shows that SMEs also have some catching up to do in terms of digital transformation.
The DigiBarometer examines the digital transformation in Switzerland. Established thought patterns and structures must be broken through, and new approaches and business models must be developed. The pressure to innovate and change is becoming a continuous challenge - also for Swiss SMEs.
Against this backdrop, the Chief Digital Community (CDC), in collaboration with the Lucerne School of Information Technology, conducted the DigiBarometer for the first time in 2018 to survey the situation of Swiss SMEs with regard to digital transformation. By means of this survey, important insights into the situation of Swiss SMEs in the increasingly digitalized world could be gained, with the aim of raising awareness.
- 97 percent see digital transformation as an opportunity.
- 20 percent are successfully underway with digital transformation, 68 percent partially successful.
- 70 percent have anchored digital transformation in their corporate strategy, and 13 percent are planning to do the same.
- 49 percent have sufficient know-how internally, while 29 percent do not yet.
- Fifty-six percent gave no answer regarding the location of experts for digital transformation within the corporate structure. 24 percent mention the company management.
- 49 percent state that they have too few resources internally for digital transformation.
- 46 percent name products and services as the reaction area of digital transformation.
- 28 percent say their board of directors has a high level of knowledge, while a further 8 percent rate this as very high. This contrasts with 38 percent who rate their board of directors as having a low or very low level of knowledge.
Conclusion: People, markets and society will change fundamentally. New technologies are forcing companies to radically rethink their business models and offer enormous growth opportunities. But companies should also be able to take advantage of these opportunities. As a direct consequence, mastering the digital transformation means a huge effort, especially for existing companies.
