News and Trends / Digital Transformation: A Tale of Many Technologies

Digital Transformation: A Tale of Many Technologies

By Michael Vizard | Posted 2016-08-04

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Digital Transformation: A Tale of Many Technologies

To tap into the digital business transformation trend, solution providers need to weave many technologies together.
Rate of Digital Transformation

A full 89% of customers now acknowledge their industry is in the middle of some form of digital transformation.
Top Digital Transformation Technologies

Mobile computing is cited most often, at 72%, followed by cloud apps (68%), cloud infrastructure (59%), the IoT (37%) and providing self-service capabilities (33%).
Digital Transformation Technologies Deployed

A full 72% say they have already deployed mobile apps, followed by 68% that have deployed cloud apps and 59% using cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) technology. Only 37% said they have deployed an IoT solution.
Digital Transformation Technology Deployment Plans

Just over half (55%) say they are gearing up to embrace IoT. Another 25% are focusing on providing self-service capabilities.
Increased Use of Digital Transformation Technology

Despite being widely deployed, 75% said they plan to increase the use of mobile computing. Another 73% said they would increase the use of cloud applications, followed by 69% citing cloud IaaS.
Drivers of Digital Transformation

Increased employee productivity was cited most by 75%, followed by business growth (67%) and reduced IT costs (59%). Only 37% cited competitive pressures.
IT Projects Driven by Digital Transformation

Well over half (56%) of all IT projects are now driven by a digital transformation initiative.
Number of Organizations Doing Digital Transformation Well

Only 27% say they have a coordinated digital transformation strategy. Another 21% say they are working on one.
IT Security Role in Digital Transformation

Despite the strategic nature of many of these projects, only 18% say security teams have been involved in every one. The good news is 51% say IT security teams have been involved in most of them. What's more, 76% agree that IT security is still an afterthought when it comes to digital transformation.
IT Security Confidence

A full 96% admit IT security is a challenge and only 11% are confident in their ability. Another 85% say IT security does a better job when included early in the project. A full 91% also said the IT security team would do a better job if they had more resources.
IT Security as a Business Enabler

Nearly half (49%) say the IT security team has a reputation for blocking projects while 37% say they serve to delay then. Not surprisingly, 85% admit business users seek to avoid engaging IT security teams to one degree or another.
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"Digital business transformation" is a catchphrase that has become the latest way to hype the adoption of a broad range of technologies. To tap into that trend, solution providers need to think past individual classes of technologies. A new survey of 631 IT and security professionals conducted by Dimensional Research on behalf of Dell Software makes it clear that mobile and cloud computing technologies are at the heart of most of these transformations, with internet of things (IoT) initiatives playing an important part. The opportunity for solution providers is to weave these technologies together to create a measurable business outcome, such as increasing employee productivity or customer engagement. For many, that may mean expanding beyond their current technology comfort zones to stay relevant to customers. The biggest obstacle is IT security, which poses both a threat and an opportunity. Since IT security teams have a reputation for killing or delaying digital business initiatives, it may be tempting to try and do an end run around these teams, but the survey makes it clear that solution providers and their customers would be better served by addressing IT security issues up front.