CEOs look favorably on their employees’ digital experiences, but to take transformation to the next level, CIOs and their teams need to overcome some obstacles.
A significant share of CEOs at multinational companies rank ongoing digital transformation efforts “at the top of our boardroom agenda,” according to a recent survey from BT. The resulting report, ” Leading from the Front: CEO Perspectives on Business Transformation in the Digital Age,” indicates that CIOs and chief digital officers are leading these initiatives, placing high priorities on the security, cost-effectiveness, reliability, integration and global presence of digital transformations. CEOs look favorably on their employees’ digital experiences, and that helps when it comes to retention, innovation, cost reductions, collaboration and productivity. However, to take the transformation to the next level, CIOs and their tech teams will need to overcome a number of obstacles, including inflexible technologies and a lack of essential digital skills. “CEOs have highlighted the importance of digital transformation to their multinational organizations today,” according to the report. “While their confidence is high, there are also areas of weakness, primarily around security, technology skills and insight. The opportunity to evolve through digital continues to grow, and many organizations are looking equally at various models by which they can gain competitive advantage. Getting digital transformation right means having core elements built in up front, balancing the right security measures with cost and opportunity, implementing an infrastructure that is flexible and ready to deal with the requirements of the next strategic move.” More than 400 CEOs of multinational corporations took part in the research, which was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
