85% of firms plan to invest in digital transformation in 2018

A research report from Forrester and global IT consultancy Virtusa exploring digital maturity has revealed that 2018 is likely to see 85% of companies investing in digital transformation.

The report, Digital Transformation Race Has Begun, evaluates the state of digital transformation across the retail, banking, healthcare, insurance, telco and media industries, having gained insight from 600 key decision makers at $250mn to $1bn revenue companies across Western Europe and North America.

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“The Forrester Study confirms that while most companies are preparing to make digital transformation a priority, they have a long way to go before achieving any kind of mastery over the multiple disciplines required to effectively innovate,” said Frank Palermo, Global Head of Digital Solutions, Virtusa.

“Firms that are obsessed with their customer’s experience can achieve significant operational efficiencies and put innovation at the heart of their respective cultures and are the ones that will see the greatest benefits from digital transformation.”

Alongside customer experience, the study looks at operational excellence and business innovation in evaluating digital maturity, with the majority of firms falling in the lower-to-middle range category, with an average score of 26.06 out of 45.

In successfully executing digital transformation strategies, the study recommends that companies become customer obsessed, translated in overriding visions and digital roadmaps.

“In today’s business climate, with industries being disrupted at every turn, companies must be able to quickly change their products and processes to pivot to take advantage of new market opportunities,” Palermo continued. “As the study finds, improving digital maturity will be key to meeting the changing needs of customers in an evolving marketplace.” 

For more information, see the full Digital Transformation Race Has Begun report.