'Firms behind in digital goals, even as pandemic caused productivity loss'

As many as 90 per cent enterprises are yet to achieve their digital-first goals, while 45 per cent lost productivity during the Covid-19 crisis due to problems of connectivity, a report by Tata Communications has found.

The report, titled “Leading in a Digital-First World; Enabling Success with the Right Mindset, Ecosystem and Trust”,  found 49 per cent respondents admitting that cyber security is the top most priority for their business, and 41 per cent enterprises attributing the shift to digital-first operating models for maintaining market share during the course of the pandemic. 

The survey was conducted among business leaders across 750 enterprises globally, across 11 countries and classifies them into three distinct categories as per their digital maturity stage.

The survey categorised enterprises as "Digital Trailblazers" which constitute10 per cent of the respondents have the most advanced digital operating models, connectivity platforms and strategies ensuring secure and trusted operations. As many as 63 per cent of these attribute revenue growth to their digital-first strategy.

The next set of enterprises, 52 per cent of them, were classified as "digital migrants". They have limited digitalisation in their business, but still need to improve in several areas of digital capability.

The remaining 38 per cent of enterprises are at a nascent stage of digitalising their business and have been unable to achieve growth due to lack of digital maturity, the report found. 

“A digital-first operating model is a must for enterprises in the new world order. As economies open, trust and security are core to the competitiveness and agility of enterprises seeking growth. The scale of digitalisation will be the new barometer of success for enterprises irrespective of its size or industry,” said A S Lakshminarayanan, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Communications.

The report further suggests three ways for businesses to get faster adoption of their digital journey- Commit to a digital-first operating model, create quality user experiences with a hyperconnected ecosystem and build security and trust around the digital system. 

The survey found 44 per cent were not successful in delivering a digital-first operating model for their ecosystem. To address this, real benefits of digital transformation requires organisations to go far beyond shifting some business processes online. They need a coherent digital operating model that over time reimagines every core channel, process and service offering to maximise the digital opportunity.

As many as 91 per cent enterprises admitted they were not able to provide high-quality digital experiences for their customers, employees and business partners. They concur to having only a patchwork of different digital strategies and processes across their organisations. 

To move up the value chain, the report suggests, a digital-first strategy focusing on agility, control and security is critical. Enterprises must move away from legacy processes and embrace ‘being hyperconnected’ and delivering high-quality, secure and frictionless collaboration for all stakeholders across the entire ecosystem, it says. 

As many as 49 per cent enterprises said cyber security was the most important aspect of their digital strategy to continually improve and 34 per cent enterprises rated themselves poorly at delivering an agile operating model. This is a stumbling block on their ability to innovate and adapt faster than their competition. As cyber threats and regulatory demands gain centre stage in the new world enterprises must continue to win trust, businesses must stay vigilant and invest proactively to safeguard all stakeholders, the Tata Communications study suggests.