Just under one third of UK businesses have a Digital Transformation strategy in place today

With just under one third (31 per cent) of businesses stating they have a strategy in place today, a further 23 per cent are actively implementing one, and a further 18 per cent stating that they expect to have one in place within the next 24 months, the research from Ingram Micro Cloud indicates that a staggering 71 per cent of businesses will have Digitally Transformed by 2018.

The survey – conducted over the two-day event – questioned over 200 businesses and end users. The majority of respondents were from SMEs, with 58 per cent having fewer than 250 employees. The next highest group was more than 5,000 at 18 per cent. Most respondents were in IT or business direction and management - 38 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

According to the research it is the Cloud that is empowering this process. Over 80 per cent of the sample stated that the Cloud was playing a critical or very important role in their respective Digital Transformation strategies.

Apay Obang-Oyway, Director Northern Europe, Ingram Micro Cloud, stated: “Cloud has turned everything on its head.  It is no longer about big corporations eating small businesses; now it is small challenging the big because with Cloud, small can be so much more innovative and agile.  Greater opportunities now lie with SMBs.  It’s important to realise the potential of the Cloud; it is about doing more with more to develop strong strategic advantage in a world that is fast changing.

“Every digital transformation journey is different and dynamic because every organisation has a different, unique set of capabilities that delivers of value that needs to constantly change to stay relevant. Ensuring you capture the hearts and minds of your customers means you have to constantly and quickly adapt to their changing needs and demands,” he added.

Key findings of the research included:

• 31 per cent of enterprises have a digital transformation strategy today, while 23 per cent are currently implementing one.
• A further 18 per cent expect to have one within 24 months which means that by 2018 that makes 71 per cent of organisations will do so
• 81 per cent said the Cloud is critical or very important to digital transformation projects
• When asked what the top three objectives were for undertaking a Digital Transformation project 56 per cent choose customer engagement, 48 per cent identifying cost reduction and 45 per cent stated competitive positioning
• Security came out as the main concern for two thirds of the sample (66 per cent). Cost concerns follows at 36 per cent, and lack of skills at 27 per cent.
• The questionnaire also asked where within the enterprise did they see or expect resistance to the changes brought about by Digital Transformation, and while there was no stand out department Operations, with 37 per cent, Back Office with 28 per cent, and finance at 26 per cent were identified as the top three

“The ability to digitally reimagine the business is determined in large part by a clear digital strategy supported by leaders who foster a culture of change. While this is nothing new – and let’s be honest the world of business and IT have seen many technical evolutions - what is unique to digital transformation is that risk taking is becoming a cultural norm. More digitally advanced companies are seeking new levels of competitive advantage. New market entrants are appearing almost daily, disrupting traditional industries, the small are now challenging the large, the new challenging the old. Just think Airbnb, Uber and Deliveroo. Equally important, employees across all age groups want to work for businesses that are committed to digital progress and this is what will attract the talent of the future. But underpinning this entire revolution is the Cloud. It is without doubt the single most transformative element in this radical rethinking of the way business is done today. Elastic, consumption led, flexible deployment and available for all sizes of business,” concluded Apay.