Information technology is the driving force behind business success today. The term digital economy was coined back in the 1990s. Now, decades later, the bulk of modern business interaction and engagement is dependent upon data, and for businesses to thrive, good IT is essential. This is a widespread belief. Consider that 86% of the IT decision makers surveyed by ESG agreed with the statement, “If we do not embrace digital transformation, we will be a less competitive and/or effective organization.”
Under the general umbrella of competitiveness and effectiveness, companies often have multiple objectives in mind when putting a transformation initiative into motion. For example, a commonly mentioned goal among surveyed IT decision makers is to boost operational efficiency (55%). But as Figure 1 shows, they hope for a range of positive outcomes.