Average Irish business to spend €455K on digital transformation in next 12 months
Comtrade Digital Services, the leading software engineering services and solutions provider, has announced the results of a survey, which found that the average Irish business will spend €455,000 on digital transformation projects over the next 12 months. The independent survey of 133 Irish IT decision-makers also found that 62% of businesses that have started their digital transformation journey have seen their profits increase.
As digital technologies move to dominate the business landscape, an increasing number of organisations are adopting a more digital way of working – from embracing cloud computing to developing their own online applications and platforms. In doing so, they are competing on new, lucrative ground and revolutionising their business models. Comtrade Digital Services’ research found that 44% of businesses list increasing revenues as a top-three goal in embarking on a digital transformation journey.
The top aims for digital transformation listed by IT leaders include improved business processes (68%), better customer satisfaction and user experience (65%) and improved employee productivity (47%). Despite these benefits, Comtrade Digital Services’ research found that many Irish businesses are struggling to adopt and implement a technology-first approach. Some 89% of survey respondents believe their company is lacking in in-house skills and talent to fully digitise workloads and transform their business.
The result is dissatisfaction amongst many IT leaders with regards to how their company is handling digital transformation. Half of respondents believe that their company isn’t doing enough to embrace a digital future. Along with a shortage of in-house skills, top hurdles cited include financial concerns and limitations (56%), company culture (49%) and securing management and board-level support (41%).
The survey also found that businesses lack strategy when approaching digital transformation. Almost half (48%) of senior IT decision-makers admitted to having no official or formal plan for their digital transformation journey.
Dejan Ćušić, Business Director, Ireland & UK at Comtrade Digital Services, said: “Digital transformation helps businesses to improve the agility of their organisation, allowing them to quickly and effectively roll out new digital products that focus on the user experience. In doing so, businesses gain competitive prowess and can carve out significant new revenue streams.
“At Comtrade Digital Services, we work with organisations on their digital transformation journeys to help them innovate faster. In Ireland, many of these companies have committed millions of euro each year to their digital transformation projects and we expect the average spend amongst Irish businesses will increase in the coming years.
“As more and more businesses adopt a technology-first approach, those that have held back will be left behind. The time for investment in digital transformation is now. That means not only investing in new technologies, but also having the right people and processes in place to make digital transformation a success. Companies that act now will find themselves reaping the rewards for years to follow.”
Businesses that have embarked on their digital transformation are managing an increasing number of digital platforms. To help them succeed, Comtrade Digital Services is hosting Quest for Quality, a two-day conference on 4th-5th October discussing software testing in the platform economy.
