The Digital Business Report 2020

The road to resilience and recovery

Every organisation has been grappling with being responsive, agile and ultimately staying afloat during the current crisis. With countries forced into lockdown over a number of weeks and months, many organisations have had no choice but to ask their staff to work from home or, worse still, pause trading altogether.

During this unprecedented time it has enabled the Cloud to prove its worth. The technology has come into its own during the unforeseen demands of 2020. After all, Cloud-based business software is built to drive team collaboration, and it gives staff instant access to the tools and information they need anywhere and at any time. It’s therefore encouraging to see that 57% of organisations now have a Cloud strategy in place, according to our survey, which is an increase of 8% from 49% last year.

Organisations that have adopted a Cloud-first strategy would likely have been better prepared to deal with the challenges around lockdown – as long as their expectations for what the technology can deliver have been met. Our research shows that, in some areas, the Cloud has definitely lived up to expectations. In fact, 37% say productivity benefits are what they hoped for (an increase from 30% last year), along with mobile working at 34%, up from 21%, and speed of implementation which has risen from 16% to 22%. While these figures are still low, we can expect them to rise further as organisations look to the Cloud as part of their recovery.

Interestingly, only 40% of organisations have a digital HR strategy in place, which we anticipate will increase over the coming weeks and months in response to the workforce management demands of Covid-19. The use of technology systems and tools to manage employees is critical, but even more so in the current crisis. Employees have been working from home, some have been self-isolating and many have been furloughed. This unsurprisingly becomes incredibly difficult for HR teams to keep on top of without the right technology to help streamline this process.

Arguably, one of the biggest surprises in our report is that just 30% use team collaboration software at a time when people are working remotely. We’ve seen an explosion in the use of tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack, but this low figure suggests staff are still depending on traditional forms of communication like email. This lack of online collaboration can significantly impact productivity levels, and with employees potentially sharing and storing sensitive company information on their individual laptops rather than on a shared platform would undoubtedly increase the security risk to this data.

The lack of integration between business software also thwarts productivity. Teams continue to work in siloes, which makes it difficult to improve efficiencies and for leaders to look at the business as a whole. Only 28% of respondents say all of their software packages integrate with each other, and only 58% say core functions like finance and HR are integrated. It’s perhaps no surprise that a lack of integration has held 45% back from successful digital transformation during lockdown. Similarly, 43% say it’s held the teams back from doing their jobs effectively during this time.

TAKEAWAY: Organisations with digital transformation programmes in place will be better able to recover from Covid-19. However, before looking at implementing new tools and technologies, it’s important to first review what you already have in place. Which software and systems are enabling the change in working practices? And are they being used by staff to their maximum potential?

The workforce of the future

As we enter the business recovery phase, organisations are now reflecting on the last few months and examining the lessons learned as a result of the pandemic. As Covid-19 has forced many of them to service their customers remotely, with staff working from home, it’s clear the future workforce will look very different.

The crisis has certainly helped organisations recognise the benefits of technology in managing the short and long term effects on the workforce. In fact, 42% say future changes in working practices are triggering new software and technology purchases. The productivity of the workforce and the possibility of a future crisis or pandemic have also been key purchasing triggers, both at 32%.

However, it’s concerning that only 38% say a positive user experience should be inherent in their business software. Surely this should be a top priority if organisations are implementing technology to improve the way people work? If staff don’t buy into the tools in use then the chances are they will find their own solutions – potentially creating further headaches around productivity and even security. This calls for organisations to create a technology culture that supports and enhances a new way of working.

What’s more, only 29% think their business software should inherently integrate all the data within these applications. Again, integration is imperative when we consider that departments traditionally work in siloes, and people could be working from multiple locations for the foreseeable future. Integration between software is essential in enabling collaboration, but also in giving leadership teams a real-time view of the entire business. Quite simply, it can no longer be optional.

What we can see from the survey is that Covid-19 is forcing businesses to refocus their priorities, with their workforce at the heart of future success, which is really encouraging. Just over half (52%) say remote working has increased as a business priority because of the pandemic, followed by employee physical and mental wellbeing (51%) and greater employee trust (41%).

It’s also clear that Covid-19 will transform working life as we know it. Most respondents (60%) agree the workforce of the future will use remote working, with the systems being Cloud-based to liberate employees and enable them to do their work from anywhere. What’s more, 46% believe the current crisis will eventually change working practices for the better.

TAKEAWAY: Imagine what the future of your workforce looks like, and whether the current crisis will change your organisation’s working practices going forward. Create, or update your digital strategy with people (your best assets) firmly at the heart of it. Find out what tools you can implement to enable remote working and ensure autonomy, while supporting the health and wellbeing of your staff.

Taking leadership

We all recognise the importance of leadership in a crisis. Covid-19 has swiftly highlighted the need for leaders to be decisive and confident, as well as be prepared to act fast. During this pandemic, we have seen that standing still is simply not an option, and organisations have raced to implement technology to enable remote working. In fact, 45% of those surveyed said they have increased spending on technology business software tools during the pandemic.

That said, more than a quarter of respondents (28%) do not think their leadership team is moving fast enough to keep up with changing technology requirements following the disruption from Covid-19. This is worrying as the current crisis has showed businesses the need to adapt and act with pace, which should always be led from the top.

What’s more, leaders should be engaging with employees early on if they are to understand their pain points in their new working practices. This will help managers better understand which tools will enable their team to be most effective. It’s therefore disappointing that 29% say their leadership team is not communicating with the rest of the workforce early enough when choosing new technology.

Is it because there is no clear leader in making technology decisions, or because technology is not recognised by the board as an important business issue? Our research suggests both are true.

Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), it seems, are increasingly taking a back seat when it comes to influencing a company’s decision to adopt technology. Only 34% are now guiding these decisions, down from 41% last year, meaning Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Managing Directors are more likely than any other role to take the lead. It suggests that, for 37% of organisations, discussions around technology are taking place at the top of the boardroom but there’s still a long way to go.

Interestingly, we could be seeing the steady rise of the Digital Transformation Officer (DTO), which has increased from 21% to 25%. While this position is not entirely new, the DTO’s role is dedicated to accelerating digital transformation and driving change across the entire workforce. Of course, some organisations might not have the resources to employ a DTO, so may choose to outsource digital transformation projects to a third party with deep expertise in technology and change.

TAKEAWAY: Digital transformation is a business issue and must have a permanent place in the boardroom. Appoint a digital pioneer in your leadership team to take responsibility for technology adoption and change. They will need to lead the creation of a technology culture that supports your new way of working. If you don’t have enough resources, outsource some of the work to a supplier that has relevant expertise, both in back-office and market-specific technologies.

Prioritising security

With any technology implementation, there is one thing that organisations mustn’t ignore – and that’s security. Cyber criminals continue to exploit vulnerabilities and weaknesses in IT software and systems. And they’re targeting organisations of all sizes. A separate report from Hiscox reveals an increase in reported cyber-attacks year-on-year among medium-sized businesses (36% to 63%), while the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says small firms are suffering close to 10,000 attacks daily.

It’s therefore shocking that only 56% of our survey respondents admit to having a security strategy in place, which is only a slight increase from 53% last year. It’s also worrying when we consider that small to medium-sized businesses are often targets for attacks in a larger organisation’s supply chain. In fact, it has become such a concern that the FBI recently issued a security alert to the US private sector about a hacking campaign targeting software supply chain companies.

So, while it’s positive that 61% think their organisation’s supply chain is doing enough to support its cyber security efforts, this figure should undoubtedly be higher. All businesses must perform due diligence with every third party provider they choose to work with, and ensure they have a cybersecurity strategy.

Again, as organisations begin to look to adopt technology to enable the future workforce, which will include remote working, we can expect security to become a higher business priority. The challenge, though, is balancing digital transformation with security, which 52% currently say is difficult. The reality is that the two go hand in hand. A focus on security is a key business enabler as it demonstrates to employees, customers and key stakeholders that organisations are taking it seriously.

Cyber security is also imperative as organisations look to adopt innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents say they are concerned that cyber criminals could be using these same innovative digital technologies in order to gain unauthorised access to their company’s systems or data. And, according to a separate report from Forrester, eight out of ten security decision makers think that AI-supercharged attacks are inevitable. Organisations will need to keep pace with these threats.

TAKEAWAY: While the road to recovery requires organisations to look to technology, it mustn’t be done at the expense of security. You could be a target for cyber criminals, so make sure you are implementing the right security measures to support your new working practices. Also, work with your existing and new technology partners to understand what security measures they have in place.