EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
WHAT DOES CONTINUED GROWTH FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MEAN FOR CIOS IN AFRICA ?
Digital Transformation is the incorporation of computer-based technologies into an organisation ' s solutions , processes , and strategies . Industry pundits look at how enterprises in the Middle East and Africa ( MEA ) are winning with Digital Transformation , business benefits and digital technologies as the growth trajectory continues .
Companies undertake Digital Transformation to better engage and serve their workforce and customers and thus improve their ability to compete . According to research firm International Data Corporation ( IDC ). global spending on the Digital Transformation of business practices , products , and organisations is forecast to reach US $ 2.8 trillion in 2025 , more than double the amount allocated in 2020 . According to a recent update from the IDC Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide , Digital Transformation spending will have a Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR ) of 16.4 % over the 2021 to 2025 forecast period as organisations pursue a holistic digital strategy for people , processes , technology , data , and governance .
“ For the first time , IDC has forecast global Digital Transformation spending to exceed US $ 10 trillion over a five-year period ,” said Craig Simpson , Senior Research Manager , Customer Insights and Analysis Group , IDC .
“ While most Digital Transformation projects remained on track in 2020 and into 2021 during the pandemic , IDC forecasts Digital Transformation technology investments to accelerate in 2022 , with a renewed drive towards more long term strategic digital objectives . Beyond operational Digital Transformation investments , customer experience is garnering some of the largest Digital Transformation technology investments from consumer-oriented industries such as securities and investment services , banking and retail .”
With technology investments on the rise , what does Digital Transformation entail and why is it important for IT leaders to take note of this growth ?
David Sweenor , Senior Director , Product Marketing , Alteryx , said even with the advances made with the Internet and computers , lots of companies still have many manual , repetitive , time consuming processes that are analogous to pushing a piece of paper from one department to another and still getting it signed off . “ Our digital world still runs on paper . Digitisation is the natural next step of modifying and improving the efficiency and operation of all those processes through technology ,” he said . “ To truly transform , the process must be reimagined . If a process has been really transformed , you typically can ’ t recognise it anymore . Many processes have been transformed over time and technology has certainly been a key driver : for example , we used to stand on the curb and raise our arm to hail a taxi , now we use an app . The process looks and works completely different because the change is transformational . Transformation without analytics is just digitisation , analytics and automation make it transformative .”
Sweenor said the recent acceleration of Digital Transformation across industries has compressed years ’ worth of changes to the ways companies do business and enabled analytically mature companies to outperform their competition . “ Data is now the lifeblood of modern organisations , and Digital Transformation solutions have become so accessible that anyone can ask challenging questions and get meaningful answers from analytics automation technology ,” he said .
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