Extra tags: Digital Transformation
Workday, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, released the findings of its latest digital transformation survey, which looks at the effects of the global pandemic on organisations' digital transformation efforts in three key areas: finance, human resources (HR), and information technology (IT).
In the report, “Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation,” Workday surveyed 1,150 global senior business leaders to understand the pace of digital transformation over the course of the past two years and the biggest barriers to success. The findings revealed that while finance, HR, and IT leaders recognise the importance of digital transformation, 55% of respondents say their digital strategy is always or often outpaced by the demands of the business. As a result, the digital acceleration gap is widening, where business needs are changing faster than the technology, processes, and culture required to keep pace. In response, leaders are adopting a more sustained approach to transformation by prioritising access to data and employee experience.
To help close the acceleration gap, business leaders across the three functions are focusing on:
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Finance leaders: Unified, fast data.
New technologies that may assist integrate data between diverse systems and break down internal data silos are cited by more than half of finance leaders (51 per cent) as one of the most critical factors in expediting planning, execution, and analysis cycles. However, 61 per cent believe that technology that integrates financial, personnel, and operational data is their most important need, and 64 per cent admit that getting findings at the conclusion of a reporting period takes weeks – or more.
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HR leaders: Employee experience and skills development.
Amid the Great Resignation, employers emphasised skills to aid in recruiting, retention, and overall employee satisfaction. According to the poll, resilience and adaptability are the top abilities that will ensure teams can fulfil business expectations as they grow. Furthermore, 50% of HR leaders believe that excellent employee experiences are essential in speeding corporate change.
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IT leaders: Breaking down silos to drive automation.
While CIOs hold the key to data-fueled transformation, many are overwhelmed by the pace of change as legacy constraints and data silos are top barriers to digital transformation, according to the survey. Only 42% of IT leaders are confident in their teams’ ability to adopt cloud technologies without legacy constraints. Further, half of IT leaders (50%) are struggling to keep pace with service upgrades as part of legacy technology, with 59% saying it can take weeks or months to change an automated business process.
Workday enterprise management cloud helps organisations narrow the digital acceleration gap by providing a unified view of financial, people, and operational data, allowing them to adapt and stay ahead of the growing speed of change.
Comment on the News “Digital transformation is no longer a choice – it’s necessary to keep pace in today’s changing world. Yet, as the study shows, there’s an acceleration gap organisations need to address to help ensure their digital journeys keep pace with the growing and evolving demands of their business,” said Pete Schlampp, chief strategy officer, Workday. “We’re encouraged that global finance, HR, and IT leaders are taking a more measured approach to their transformation strategies by leveraging technology – like Workday – that drives adaptability across their business.”
