What is the Top Priority of 70% of CIOs of Fortune 500 Companies in 2021?

Coronavirus pandemic was the most significant turn in 2020. However, it successfully led to the digital transformation of the business landscape. Not only it forces organizations to adopt technologies in the workflow but it pushed for innovations.  

Today, some of the top-performing enterprises are accelerating their digital innovation by leveraging existential technologies. Their ultimate goal is to come out stronger on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.    

In Gartner’s annual global survey of CIOs in 2021, they have predicted a race towards digitalization.  

Andy Rowsell-Jones, vice president of research at Gartner said “Nothing, yet everything has changed for the CIO.”    

He adds, “The support for remote work that the COVID-19 pandemic brought on might be the biggest win for CIOs since Y2K. They now have the attention of the CEO, they have convinced senior business leaders of the need to modernize technology, and they have prompted boards of directors to accelerate enterprise digital business initiatives. CIOs must seize this moment, because they may never get another opportunity like it.”  

In this blog post, we are going to discuss the top priority of 70% of CIOs of Fortune 500.  

Today, digital transformation has become a pressing issue. According to PwC, only 27% of CEOs feel confident about their revenue growth over the year 2021.   

The reason behind this uncertainness is because most organizations haven’t yet aligned their entire organizational process in digital collaboration spaces.  

For organizations today, it’s reasonable to think they will be able to run an efficient business, deliver quality customer experience, and rally employees without having an aligned organization using digital tools to execute a well-oil digital process.  

In this era of change, it’s astonishing to see so many companies still paying lip service for digital transformation. However, it’s understandable because the office closures forced enterprises that weren’t prepared for virtual work.   

According to the Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey 2020, 47% of CIOs perceives pandemic as having permanently accelerated digital transformation.  

On the other hand, there remains a gap between installing new digital systems and driving business growth.  

Digital Transformation will Drive Growth  

Coronavirus has forced companies to adopt digital tools and platforms in haste. But the companies were not able to train employees or dedicated themselves to driving a sustainable digital culture.  

While it may be the end of the pandemic, but the changes won’t disappear quickly. The only choice organizations have is to complete their digital adoption and to catch up swiftly.  

The pandemic bought many changes to consumer expectations and led them to seek more digital services, self-service options, and contact-free interactions.   

Customer experience is vital and is seen as a key driver for economic recovery. As a result, CEOs are taking up digital initiatives to increase profit margins.  

According to WalkMe, digital transformation is the leading concern for corporate tech leaders today. They are edging ahead of cybersecurity as the primary budget priority for over three-quarters of CIOs.   

                                                                         (Source) 

Process of Digital Transformation  

In the process of digital transformation, we have seen repeated failure. Some executives are focused on acquiring licenses to tools or new virtual objects and neglecting the employee training.  

This means that executives are working against their interests. In 2021, world leaders need to prioritize an intuitive work environment to encouraging agility and adaptability for employees. But, by just prioritizing digital adoption, they’re missing a key point.  

Digital adoption lies in the heart of digital transformation by applying digital tools.   

Gartner’s report, Digital Adoption Solutions published in November, predicts that by 2025, 70% of organizations will use digital adoption solutions (DASs) to overcome insufficient user experiences.  

Gartner’s report finds the pace of DASs adoption to be alarmingly slow as without digital adoption upskilling and empowering employees have nothing but the shell of a company.  

According to a close survey of Fortune 500 CIOs by WalkMe, 50% said that their biggest challenge is the burden on IT support. It directly related to the second-biggest challenge of inadequate tech skilled employee.  

Pressure on IT support teams can cause mental health issues and burnout, and 84% of tech leaders are worried, according to the Nash/KPMG data. 

                                                                            (Source) 

This is the biggest challenge faced by the new remote office. Today, employees are overwhelmed by new tools as they don’t have enough training or support. Some tools are complicated and are frustrating and stressful for employees by their lack of ability to correctly use them.  

Digital adoption is the only way to relieve this frustration and streamline business processes. This will also lift the burden from IT employees and the organization will get more use to “the next normal”.   

Failing at Digital Adoption means Failing Stakeholders  

During the time of the pandemic, not just business organization but also customers have gone through a digital transformation. For instance, they have adopted online payments, online self-service and shopping portals, online banking, and much more.  

Even though many are still struggling, but your employees will be unable to help them with a digital platform if they don’t understand it themselves.  

Today, digital adoption has made the process smooth to help customers with new digital interactions instead of causing friction and irritation.  

Bottom line:   

Today, digital adoption has become the next hurdle for digitally transformed business organizations. With the pandemic close to over, digital transformation has become essential to drive business growth and recovery in 2021.  

It is crucial for businesses to not get tangled up and overlook the important part played by digital adoption. In the coming time, consumer demand will increase and no excuse will hold water.  

For all the enterprises that want to avoid losing talented employees, it would be wise to start taking digital adoption seriously. 

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