The new rules of transformations: 4 ways to create more value

Why it matters: Innovation is essential. But there’s a big difference between proving a concept and creating sustainable value. Effective transformations benefit from a product-first mindset that is guided by cross-functional teams with clear business objectives and well-designed KPIs. “Experimenting” with new technologies, running multiple pilots in multiple silos, or celebrating “quick wins” that can’t actually scale … those are the ghosts of transformations past.

72%

of respondents continuously evaluate the business value and outcomes across all their technology investments.

Why it matters: The ability to harness advanced data and analytics to deliver powerful business insights is a hallmark of effective digital transformations. As our new report reveals, companies are making progress on cleaning up legacy data and integration challenges that have doomed previous transformation initiatives. But, here again, there is work to do. And the stakes are getting higher: Robust data hygiene is critical for unlocking the full potential of game-changing technologies like AI and generative AI (GenAI).

Enhanced data and analytics ranks as the top contributor to improved results from digital transformations.

Why it matters: AI and GenAI technologies are perhaps the biggest drivers of the disruption and rapid pace of change that many companies are struggling with. But they are also delivering real results—today—for many: Three-quarters of the companies in our survey report that they are already driving value from AI implementations. And it’s worth noting that AI’s growing emergence has coincided with the recent progress improvements on digital transformations. 

82%

of companies anticipate that AI’s automation firepower will absorb many time-consuming processes, liberating staff to focus more on insights and value creation.

Why it matters: Transformations are notoriously complex endeavors, with multiple moving parts that require specialized expertise and careful choreography. And of course, leadership wants that enterprise dance to move even faster. To meet the need for speed and close gaps in internal capabilities, many companies are leveraging external partners and solutions through the Everything as a Service (XaaS) model, which can rapidly shore up critical areas, accelerate value creation, and reduce legacy tech obstacles.

1/3

of the companies in our survey are seeing benefits from XaaS for cybersecurity—which ranks as the No. 1 barrier to digital transformation success.