A STUDY by International Data Corp. for Amdocs Ltd. showed service providers in Asia Pacific (Apac) believe they are not transforming fast enough to meet the demands of today’s digital era.
According to the survey, 47 percent of local C-level and other service provider decision makers predict it will take their companies more than five years to transform. This is not fast enough according to 76 percent of respondents who believe that the communications industry will be outpaced by other industries.
According to the survey, 33 percent of service providers in Apac still do not have a digital strategy in place. While 90 percent of local respondents highlight the importance of having a chief digital officer to lead and drive such a strategy, only 29 percent have one. Furthermore, 85 percent of the industry is still executing digital transformation projects as stand-alone initiatives without alignment to a broader technology roadmap or business strategy.
The study also showed that 67 percent of respondents in Apac believe that the communications industry has strong technology capabilities but will find it difficult to implement and bring to market digital transformation projects quickly enough. When asked what factor would most help their companies transform into digital-service providers, having the right skills to create and implement digital transformation strategies were ranked first and second. The third most helpful factor the respondents pointed out is the use of customer experience as a design principle for new products and services. All of these were well ahead of having the necessary financial capital, which ranked sixth.
To deploy new digital capabilities and accelerate the pace of digital transformation, service providers are looking to share the challenge with partners, the study suggests. In the next 12 months, 43 percent of respondents in Apac say they will invest in managed services as part of their transformation in order to enable solutions for new areas.
In general, information-technology services vendors are ranked as the most valuable partners for the execution of digital transformation projects, ahead of specialist digital consultants (second). Systems integrators ranked third together with 3rd-party players specializing in standalone digital solutions. Strategy consultants ranked fourth together with managed services vendors and network equipment vendors ranked fifth. These findings suggest service providers are looking for partners who can deliver a wide range of expertise.
Image credits: Photo courtesy of Amdocs Ltd.