WalkMe and Futurum Research Insights Reveal What It Takes to Be a Digital Leader
We all know how quickly things can change, as evidenced by the unexpected COVID-19. Intense and sudden disruption hit industries and companies globally, deeply impacting the economy and how we work.
WalkMe partnered with Futurum Research, an independent research, analysis, and advisory firm focused on digital innovation, market-disrupting technologies, and industry trends to create a white paper to address the internal and external challenges companies face today to stay digitally innovative and how digital adoption leads to digital leadership.
Read the white paper now or scroll below for a glimpse into some highlights.
What does a digital leader look like today?
First, let’s define a digital leader.
A digital leader is a highly agile, technology-savvy company for who approaches technology disruption as a catalyst for growth.
According to Futurum’s Digital Transformation Index 2020 only 12% of the 1,000 companies surveyed fit that description.
In order to raise that number, businesses need to make digital transformation a company-wide priority.
The data revealed four factors that effectively drive digital transformation and leadership as:
- Support from managers
- Knowledgeable employees
- Access to great technology partners
- Adequate budget allocation
Listen as Daniel Newman principal analyst and founding partner at Futurum Research shares Futurum’s in-depth analysis on digital leadership, transformation and innovation.
Technology disruption
The Digital Transformation Index 2020 surveyed companies’ attitudes towards technology disruption, their level of readiness for emerging technology categories and which technology categories are their highest priority.
Among all of the interesting findings, 5G high-speed networks are highlighted as being one of the most anticipated technologies to emerge on the scene. 5G networks will influence business communications with improved coverage quality. This is, of course, pertinent since more companies are working remotely and will lean more on virtual communications. 5G will also impact IoT (Internet of Things) as more devices become connected to things like smart grids, autonomous vehicles, smart cities and more.
Challenges that hinder digital transformation
Digital transformation can be slowed down by outside influences such as pandemics, global trends, and legislation.
GDPR, General Data Protection Regulation, is legislation that was passed in the EU in 2016 which called for stronger data privacy. In order to be compliant, companies have needed to allocate resources to enhance data security, in some cases taking away from overall digital transformation efforts.
COVID-19 is having an unprecedented effect on companies across the globe, affecting numerous industries (travel, tourism, food) and pushing organizations into a new working from home reality. This monumental shift has put many companies into survival mode and required them to cut costs and place digital transformation strategies on the backburner.
It’s not only external conflict that impedes digital transformation, but also internal limitations. Over 35% of Digital Transformation Index 2020 respondents cited inadequate budgets and 27% indicated employees’ lack of necessary skills to slowing down digital transformation efforts. These internal struggles within organizations are commonplace, in effect keeping businesses behind the technology curve.
Watch Tara Galvin the VP Digital Transformation & Knowledge Strategy of Comcast, address internal and external challenges and her insights on how to adapt to the future of work in an ever-changing environment.
Digital Adoption Platform as a solution
In a recent piece by Futurum Research titled, “An Enterprise Guide to Digital Adoption,” they pinpoint the difference between companies excelling in digital leadership and those lagging behind due to struggles with the implementation of software at a company-wide level.
With new and emerging technologies, external and internal challenges, companies need to have the right digital tools, and most importantly know how to use them. A Digital Adoption Platform paves the way for digital transformation and digital leadership by training and onboarding users to new systems or business processes and automating tasks, thus resulting in greater efficiency and less strain on support.
For more detailed insights, read the full white paper here