Digital leaders are confident that embracing technology across all facets of their business is bringing productivity gains, with nearly two-thirds (63%) surveyed reporting an increase in their profitability or performance by using XaaS in the past 24 months according to the KPMG global tech report. This new report, which surveyed more than 2,100 technology executives, explores the technology strategies employed by organisations across the globe as they embark on the next stage of their digital transformation journeys. It also examines the opportunity presented by emerging technology to drive value and gain a competitive edge during a sustained period of unprecedented market volatility.
Profit, performance and leadership
Respondents see technology investment driving profit or performance improvements of more than 10 percent, up from last year’s most common rate of improvement of around 2.5 percent. Buy-in across leadership for deploying emerging tools and technologies has more than tripled, with the top three areas of investment being artificial intelligence, data and analytics and Xaas.
“The survey results about AI echo the anecdotal sentiment among our client base. The biggest threat to many organisations’ digital transformation ambition is linked to poor collaboration across teams, so leadership and management style can also play a key role,” said Liam Cotter, Technology Practice Lead, KPMG in Ireland.
Advancing ESG priorities
Almost half of respondents (48 percent) agree that advancing their ESG priorities will be a primary innovation goal for their technology functions over the next two years; this is consistent regionally with 53 percent in ASPAC, 46 percent in the Americas and 47 percent in EMA.
Achieving short-term goals
Among those leading businesses where investment in technology is driving confidence and profitability most quickly, AI and machine learning are even bigger priorities. More than two-thirds (68 percent) say these technologies will be vital in helping them to achieve their short-term business goals, compared with 57 percent of the total sample.
The biggest threat to many organisations’ digital transformation ambition is linked to poor collaboration across teams – often due to negative work culture and poor communication. Nine in ten respondents think collaboration with the wider business would be stronger if their tech function were more diverse.
Exploring emerging technologies’ potential
This year, 96 percent of the leaders (the top 15 percent of those surveyed) say their technology function can help the enterprise confidently explore emerging technologies’ potential, compared with 81 percent of businesses overall. Two-thirds of these leaders have reached at least the implementation stage on projects connected to emerging technologies, XaaS, data and analytics, AI, and automation, compared with less than half of the total respondent base.
With 72 percent of digital leaders recording improvements in employee productivity from digital transformation, compared with only 48 percent of the other businesses, the potential benefits are huge. Seventy-one percent say they have enhanced customer engagement, compared with 49 percent.
For more information, visit our website: www.kpmg.ie/techreport2023