IT and non-IT executives agree that the IT department should play a more active role in digital transformation, reveals a new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by SAP.
Digitising IT is based on a multinational survey of over 800 senior executives, 50% of which are IT leaders, drawn from a range of industries. The study reveals a distinct lack of strategic co-ordination around digital transformation, and considerable variance in the way digital initiatives are led and managed.
The CIO is the most likely C-suite executive to own digital transformation, for example, but digital initiatives are more likely to be led by business departments (29%) than the IT function (22%).
However, there is consensus among executives that the IT department should play a more active role in a number of capabilities that support digital transformation. For example, just 7% of all executives say their IT department plays a leadership role in identifying opportunities for innovation but 35% believe it should.
IT departments have already begun to adapt in order to support digital transformation, and almost half (45%) of non-IT executives say their IT department has changed the way it works completely or significantly to support digital transformation.
But the survey indicates limited adoption of methodologies, such as Agile development (17%) or DevOps (15%), that are designed to make IT more responsive to the needs of digital business.
Pete Swabey, the editor of the report, said: “The fact that IT executives agree that their department should play a more active role in digital transformation shows that they do not lack the desire or ambition to do so. A number of important responsibilities prevent IT from focusing entirely on digital innovation. Nevertheless, the limited level adoption of Agile and DevOps suggests a degree of inertia that few companies have the time to indulge in.”
