Weakening Economies Will Not Deflect From Digital Business
Transformation
CEOs have underlined that growth will be their top business priority for
2016, according to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc. The 2016 Gartner CEO
and senior business executive survey found that despite indications that
the global economy is struggling in early 2016, CEOs do not plan to
significantly change their priorities. After growth (54 percent), the
second and third business priorities are customers (31 percent) and
workforce (27 percent).
The Gartner CEO and senior business executive survey of 400 senior
business leaders in user organizations worldwide was conducted in the
fourth quarter of 2015, asking questions about 2016/2017. Most
responding organizations were those with annual revenue of $1 billion or
more. The survey results show that while business conditions are
challenging, CEOs remain confident enough to sanction strategic
investments, particularly when it comes to digital business
transformation.
"The big rise of explicit mentions of the word "customer" was very
noticeable in the results of this year's survey," said Mark
Raskino, vice president and Gartner Fellow. "CEOs seem to be
concerned about improving customer service, relationship and
satisfaction levels. At the same time, CEOs have become much more
concerned about employee issues than a couple of years ago. The emphasis
is as much on benefits, retention and training of mainstream staff. It
is not constrained only to senior grade 'talent' issues."
In a bid to stick to their digital business transformation plans, more
and more CEOs are choosing to head up digital change in the business.
The survey found that CEOs now understand that digital business is
substantial enough to warrant them leading it personally. If they
delegate primary responsibility, then the next most likely leader is the
CIO.
The rise in the number of CEOs heading up digital change is unsurprising
given that half of the CEOs surveyed expect to see substantial digital
transformation in their industries, or for their industries to be almost
unrecognizable within five years. Examples of digital changes in
industries include self-driving cars, the rise of blockchain in banking,
the e-cigarette revolution in tobacco and the potential impact of Internet
of Things (IoT)-fuelled data science in insurance.
The survey results also showed that CEOs appear to see digitalization as
a positive force, not a destructive one. Overall, they are very bullish
about the effects of digital change on the gross (pretax) profitability
of their businesses, with 84 percent saying that they expect digital
change to bring higher profit margins.
“One explanation for CEOs' optimistic attitude toward digital change may
be because they can see how it helps with the product innovations that
matter to customers,” said Mr. Raskino. “We asked CEOs what proportion
of the customer perceived value of products and services they think is
digital. Thinking about the product features that customers are choosing
and believe they are buying, CEOs believe the value percentage is
already 30 percent on average and will rise to 46 percent by 2019.”
More detailed analysis is available in the report "2016
CEO Survey: The Year of Digital Tenacity."
Additional analysis on digital trends will be provided during Gartner
Symposium/ITxpo, the world's most important gathering of CIOs and
other senior IT executives. IT executives rely on these events to gain
insight into how their organizations can use IT to overcome business
challenges and improve operational efficiency. Follow news and updates
from the events on Twitter using #GartnerSYM.
Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2016 include:
September
26-28, Cape Town, South Africa
October
16-20, Orlando, Florida
October
24-27, Sao Paulo, Brazil
October
24-27, Gold Coast, Australia
November
6-10, Barcelona, Spain
November
15-18, Goa, India
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) is the world's leading information technology
research and advisory company. The company delivers the
technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right
decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations
and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom
enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors,
Gartner is the valuable partner to clients in approximately 10,000
distinct enterprises worldwide. Through the resources of Gartner
Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner
Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and
interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual
role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford,
Connecticut, USA, and has 7,900 associates, including more than 1,700
research analysts and consultants, and clients in more than 90
countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.
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