2018 was a watershed year for digital transformation. A new CIO survey from KPMG found that more companies than ever implemented a digital strategy last year, with IT budgets at their highest in almost 15 years. Yet most digital strategies are still in their infancy. As companies invest in innovation to enable their modernization, I can't help but wonder: how many understand the concept of enterprise-wide digital transformation?Research suggests that companies have grown less confident that their strategy is truly enterprise-wide (less than one-third have a clear digital vision across the organization, according to KPMG). The study also found that scaling digital transformation enterprise-wide remains a significant challenge, with only 18% believing they are effective at doing so. A company cannot use advanced technologies to create value if that value does not extend across the organization. Digital leaders understand the magnitude of this task and have created a defined strategy for delivering sustainable value enterprise-wide. Why Are Companies Struggling with Enterprise-wide Digital Transformation? Companies are realizing only a subset of benefits due to several key roadblocks along their transformation journey: Extending beyond IT: 75% of CIOs surveyed by KPMG believe that digital could be more effectively implemented to support business strategy outside of IT. Avaya's research discovered key misalignments between IT and LOB in terms of transformation ownership. Transformation should encompass both front-end and deeper operational activities without favoring one over the other to modernize, simplify and streamline end-to-end. CIO strategy: The belief that the CIO role is becoming more strategic decreased significantly between 2017 and 2018, particularly in the telecommunications and government industries. Almost one in 10 CIOs feel their role is becoming less strategic, which KPMG attributes to a feeling that their function is `keeping the lights on' as opposed to creating dynamic business change. Meanwhile, the study found that the WHAT IS ENTERPRISE-WIDE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?By Chris McGugan, SVP, Solutions & Technology, Avaya | | JUNE 201919CIOReview
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