Most firms unprepared for the changes digital transformation brings

While many company leaders feel prepared for the upheaval that emerging technologies represent, few are truly ready for the operational, competitive, cultural and security shifts already taking place, according to a report by business and technology consulting firm West Monroe Partners.

For its report, “Technology is Transforming Everything: Businesses Struggle To Change With It,” the firm surveyed 300 U.S.-based senior executives in financial services, healthcare, and energy and utilities in late 2017.

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The research shows a clear division between organizations that extract value from data and those that only collect it, the report said, and it exposes “a gulf separating companies investing in dynamic core systems and those throwing money at solutions, to implement them poorly or in isolation.”

Among the key findings:

  • 68% of business and technology leaders do not think their companies’ competitors are successfully leveraging their data.
  • 42% do not classify disruptive technologies as threats.
  • 96% are concerned about cybersecurity, but 25% still report having reactive cybersecurity strategies.
  • Only one-third report having customer experience-focused technology initiatives underway.

“The impact of technology will only continue to accelerate,” says Greg Layok, managing director and leader of the technology practice at West Monroe. “The winners and losers are more clearly defined in this digital age, so businesses cannot afford to be complacent."

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