Digital transformation alone no longer sufficient

Businesses worldwide are making strong progress with their digital transformation initiatives, but this alone is no longer sufficient for unlocking new profit, according to research from Infosys.

The company’s latest Digital Radar report found that unlike in previous years, every business surveyed has graduated from the stage of digital transformation the company calls the “watchers” stage into the “explorers” or “visionaries” stage.

The proportion of companies ranked as visionaries also grew from 20% in 2020 to 30% in 2021, the largest year-on-year increase in the history of the survey, Infosys said.

More than 90% of companies reported at least starting to adopt the 19 categories of digital initiatives surveyed, with some of the more popular technologies being AI (73%), blockchain (71%) and legacy technology modernisation initiatives (68%).

But the research also found that digital transformation initiatives must be accompanied by strong environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) commitments for companies to truly benefit. Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said ESG informs a company’s culture and mindset, and therefore improving ESG is more effective than simply adopting more technology.

“Enterprises are at an inflection point post-pandemic. COVID-19’s widespread disruption and the subsequent digital acceleration have permanently altered how the world views technology,” he said.

“While some enterprises have seen this as an opportunity to move beyond the questions of whether and how far to digitise, some still haven’t realised the need to use these digital tools to engage their stakeholders more purposefully and respond to calls to serve people, planet and community.”

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