Digital Threats
Value Drivers
Technology Adoption
The Human Element
Digital ROI
How the Middle Market Is Tackling Disruption Today
Digital initiatives can unlock new benefits for businesses, but they must also address a range of evolving threats to increase resilience and enable continued success. Devising a strategy with long-term vision helps guard against critical threats, including cyber attacks and privacy breaches, as well as disruption by industry competitors and outsiders.
Digital Threats
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2020 Digital Transformation Survey
We surveyed 600 C-suite executives at middle market organizations on their plans for digital transformation. This survey was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and digital innovation remains a priority as organizations seek to optimize processes and drive efficiencies. See what these executives have to say about:
All Industries
Energy
Financial Services
HealthcarE
Mfg.
Retail
Tech
Improving Customer Experience
22%
Optimizing Business Processes
25%
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
22%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
20%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
11%
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
20%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
12%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
11%
Improving Customer Experience
32%
Optimizing Business Processes
25%
Jump to an Industry Report
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
25%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
22%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
11%
Improving Customer Experience
24%
Optimizing Business Processes
18%
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
16%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
21%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
14%
Improving Customer Experience
27%
Optimizing Business Processes
22%
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
23%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
25%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
10%
Improving Customer Experience
16%
Optimizing Business Processes
26%
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
25%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
27%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
8%
Improving Customer Experience
19%
Optimizing Business Processes
21%
Digital Priorities
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
17%
Commoditization/ Automation
13%
Poor Customer Experience
11%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
20%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
39%
All Industries
Energy
Financial Services
HealthcarE
Mfg.
Retail
Tech
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
14%
Commoditization/ Automation
13%
Poor Customer Experience
20%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
19%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
34%
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
15%
Commoditization/ Automation
11%
Poor Customer Experience
8%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
44%
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
17%
Commoditization/ Automation
16%
Poor Customer Experience
5%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
48%
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
17%
Commoditization/ Automation
21%
Poor Customer Experience
10%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
21%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
31%
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
17%
Commoditization/ Automation
12%
Poor Customer Experience
14%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
23%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
34%
Disruption by Industry Outsiders
19%
Commoditization/ Automation
7%
Poor Customer Experience
6%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
23%
Cyber Attacks or Privacy Breaches
45%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
22%
Disruption by Industry Competitors
14%
Implementing Change Management for Digital Adoption
21%
Modernizing IT Infrastructure
16%
Adopting a New Business or Revenue Model
10%
Improving Customer Experience
18%
Optimizing Business Processes
35%
View the methodology
Disruptive threats vary across industries, so your digital transformation strategy should have an industry lens to remain competitive now and in the future. Threat-based cybersecurity can bolster your digital resilience, while insights rooted in data help understand customer needs and behavior to stave off disruption.
key insight
key insight
Many emerging technologies are not so emerging anymore. Cloud computing, advanced analytics and IoT have all gone mainstream. But several potentially transformative—and relatively cost-effective—digital enablers remain underutilized.
Technology Adoption
Cloud Computing
66%
Cloud computing shifts the access, processing and storage of data and services to the Internet.
Click the icon to define each technology
Advanced Analytics
Advanced analytics go beyond historical data analysis to provide real-time and predictive business intelligence.
57%
Internet
of Things
IoT connects “smart” devices to the Internet and to each other.
53%
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a broad concept to describe machines trained to think like humans.
45%
Distributed Ledger Technology
A database of information that is simultaneously shared and updated in real time and in multiple locations across a network.
33%
Robotic Process Automation
RPA is the use of software “bots” that automate repetitive manual tasks.
33%
Extended Reality
The extended reality realm encompasses virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality—all varying degrees of immersion.
33%
3D Printing
3D printing builds three-dimensional objects from a digital model.
29%
Considering Deploying
Considering Deploying
Currently Deploying
Currently Deploying
27%
34%
33%
42%
42%
39%
36%
26%
Considering Deploying
Currently Deploying
Focus on function over flash—but don’t shy away from experimenting with less prevalent technologies if there’s a clear use case.
Digital transformation is business transformation. For the adoption of digital technology to be transformative, it must either solve a traditional business problem in a more effective way or deliver new customer value propositions.
Digital Value Drivers
Increasing Operational Efficiencies
Increasing Operational Efficiencies
Improving
Customer Experience
Improving
Customer Experience
Driving
Revenue
Growth
Driving
Revenue
Growth
Bolstering
Digital
Resilience
Bolstering
Digital
Resilience
The focal point of most customer experience transformations is enhancing the end-to-end customer journey—eliminating points
of friction, creating consistency or
enabling more personalization.
of respondents polled are focused on improving customer experience in the next 12-18 months
68%
Improving Customer Experience
To unleash their full revenue potential, companies need to think critically about managing their data as a corporate asset with real economic value that
can be measured and monetized.
say that digital investments led to increased revenues in the last 12 months
68%*
Driving Revenue Growth
Digitizing operations by injecting intelligence and automation into business processes can reduce costs, accelerate speed and improve quality.
of respondents polled are focused on improving operational efficiencies in the next 12-18 months
58%
Increasing Operational Efficiencies
There has never been more information to harness—and to simultaneously insulate from risk. The goal is to strike the right balance, where risk is mitigated without impeding
innovation.
of respondents polled are focused on improving cybersecurity in the next 12-18 months
59%
Bolstering Digital Resilience
key insight
Set customized KPIs based on your organization’s unique digital transformation objectives. For example, if your digital strategy is focused on improving customer experience, you will need to set specific CX metrics, such as customer acquisition rate, churn or retention.
Digital transformation is less about revolutionary technology than it is about changing the way you work. It’s a mindset shift that hinges not on digital capabilities but on the adoption of those digital capabilities by the end users—employees and customers. It’s all about the human element.
The Human Element
key insight
Don’t assume that humans are rational decision-makers and will willingly embrace change if it is logically presented. Change can’t be dictated or forced – it must be inspired and influenced.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DIGITAL ADOPTION BEST PRACTICES
u
top reasonS digital initiatives fail
employee pushback
Lack of Skills or Insufficient Training
Lack of Leadership or Vision
41%
30%
28%
how ARE senior executives enabling digital adoption organization-wide?
Upskilling
Governance & Oversight
Process & Planning
Third-Party Support
46% are establishing a Digital Transformation Office
56% are implementing training to upskill current employees
43% are developing a formal change management process
40% are working with an external advisory firm
34% are leveraging outsourcing solutions
Companies reporting “overwhelmingly successful” results from their digital initiatives—meaning business outcomes surpassed their expectations—
saw significantly greater improvement in overall business performance compared to all other respondents. Although COVID-19 will temporarily impact revenues and profitability, digital initiatives remain key to optimizing business processes and driving operational efficiencies.
Digital ROI
23%
report overwhelmingly successful results
Revenue Increases
key insight
What do top-performing companies do differently to achieve their results? They:
Profitability Increases
Overwhelmingly Successful
All Others
49%
37%
50%
36%
51%
12%
50%
14%
64% net profitability increases
86% net profitability increases
63% net revenue increases
86% net revenue increases
increases of 10% or more
Click On graphs to learn more
Formalize Change Management
Execute
on Strategy
Extract Insight
From Data
49% of companies with overwhelmingly successful results are implementing their digital transformation strategies, compared to 20% of all others
50% of companies with overwhelmingly successful results are developing a formal change management strategy, compared to 36% of companies whose initiatives failed
72% of companies with overwhelmingly successful results are currently deploying advanced analytics, compared to 52% of all others
The 2020 Digital Transformation Survey was conducted by Rabin Research Company, an independent marketing research firm, in November 2019.
Methodology
we surveyed 600 C-Level Executives
Executive Titles
Executive Titles
Annual Revenues
Annual Revenues
$751 Million to just under $1 Billion
29%
$1 Billion to just under
$2 Billion
23%
$2 Billion to $3 Billion
9%
$501 Million to $750 Million
20%
$250 Million to $500 Million
19%
Annual Revenues
Tech
36%
Non-Tech
64%
Executive Titles
Chief Information Officer or Chief Information Security Officer
20%
Chief Executive Officer
14%
Chief Financial Officer
14%
Chief Operating Officer
13%
Chief Marketing Officer
11%
Chief Technology Officer or Chief Innovation Officer
16%
Chief Medical Officer
3%
Line of Business Executive
9%
Digital THREATS
Energy
Financial Services
Healthcare
Industry 4.0
Retail
Technology
*responses provided prior to COVID-19