Nearly half of Gulf enterprises describe their current information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure as “out of date”, according to Microsoft’s digital transformation and readiness survey.

The survey showed increased activity in the region surrounding the digitisation of businesses.

Necip Ozyucel, cloud and enterprise business solutions lead, Microsoft Gulf, said: “Technologies such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things have reached maturity now.

“Regional organisations are starting to look at these solutions in a new light as they seek ways to update their digital mix. The right infrastructure is crucial to operational efficiency, no matter the stripe or scale of a business,” he said.

The research, recently carried out by Microsoft asked respondents from almost 1,000 GCC-based organisations a series of questions about their awareness of, and attitude to, digital transformation.

The findings revealed that nearly half (49.5 per cent) of enterprises said their IT infrastructure was out of date and needs an immediate overhaul.

Some 84 per cent said they were, to varying extents, aware that digital transformation was a means to lower costs and increase revenues. Perhaps as a result, more than two in three (68 per cent) said they planned to invest 5 per cent or more of their revenue in digital transformation in 2018.

Just under half of these (32 per cent, or approximately a third of those surveyed) said they would invest more than 5 per cent of their revenue in finding ways to enhance their business through digital means.

Some 83 per cent of enterprises responded that they were familiar with the term “digital transformation” to varying degrees, and 79 per cent ranked it as a top priority for the coming year, with 86% indicating that they had a formal plan in place for the digital overhaul of operations.

Ozyucel continued: “When you explore digital transformation, you explore the possibilities to engage customers, empower employees, optimise operations and reinvent products and services.”

“Along with all of that goes the lowering of costs and increasing of revenues. By regularly upgrading infrastructure, businesses can save millions of dollars in capital and operations costs annually, thanks to higher server performance, consolidation, management efficiency, and improved reliability,” he said.

“As enterprises undertake initiatives such as connected devices, analytics-driven business processes, social media-focused marketing, and mobile-first user experiences, they need reliable, trusted IT to deliver a superior service experience,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service