Nearly 85 per cent of businesses in the UAE and Saudi Arabia believe that digital start-ups will pose a threat to their organisation, either now or in the future, according to new research.

Dell Technologies’ Digital Transformation Index supplements the research and rates companies based on respondents’ perceived performance about their firms’ digital transformation.

This phenomenon is propelling innovative companies forward and accelerating the demise of others, said almost half (45 per cent) of businesses surveyed fear they may become obsolete in the next three to five years due to competition from digital-born start-ups.

Some companies are feeling badly bruised by the pace of change. More than half (54 per cent) of business leaders have experienced significant disruption in their industries over the past three years as a result of digital technologies and the Internet of Everything, and 44 per cent of businesses don’t know what their industry will look like in three years’ time.

The findings result from an independent survey by Vanson Bourne of 4,000 business leaders -- from mid-size to large enterprises -- across 16 countries and12 industries including UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Patchy progress or digital crisis looming?

Some companies have barely started their digital transformation. Many have taken a piecemeal approach. Only a small minority have almost completed their digital transformation. Only 7 per cent of businesses surveyed are performing critical digital business attributes well. While only parts of many businesses are thinking and acting digitally, the vast majority (71 per cent) admits digital transformation could be more widespread throughout their organization.

Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) confess to not acting on intelligence in real-time. Only 41 per cent of businesses reported to meet customers top demand for better security, while only 46 per cent of businesses said they can meet the demand for 24/7 faster access to services and information

According to the benchmark, only 4 per cent of businesses in UAE and Saudi Arabia have catapulted themselves into the Digital Leaders group.

1.    Digital Leaders:     4 per cent - digital transformation, in its various forms, is ingrained in the DNA of the business
2.    Digital Adopters: 13 per cent - have a mature digital plan, investments and innovations in place
3.    Digital Evaluators: 35 per cent - cautiously and gradually embracing digital transformation, planning and investing for the future  
4.    Digital Followers: 37 per cent - very few digital investments; tentatively starting to plan for the future
5.    Digital Laggards: 11 per cent - do not have a digital plan, limited initiatives and investments in place

Digital rescue plan

Given the acute threat of disruption, businesses are starting to escalate a remedy. To advance their digital transformation:

•    73 per cent agree they need to prioritize a centralized technology strategy for their business
•    64 per cent are planning to invest in IT infrastructure and digital skills leadership
•    69 per cent are expanding their software development capabilities  

In order of priority according to respondents, the top planned IT investments over the next three years are:

Internet of Things technologies - 43 per cent
Ultra-high performance technologies (Example: Flash) – 42 per cent
Analytics, big data and data processing (Example: Data Lakes) – 42 per cent
Next Generate Mobile Apps - 41 per cent

“We’re in the midst of the next industrial revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another,” said Mohammed Amin, senior vice president, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East at Dell EMC.

“This shift will transform the way every business in every industry operates. We are already witnessing a transformation of business priorities as both public and private sector entities across this vast region continue to invest in advanced new technologies to better meet changing customer needs and expectations.

“In the near future, almost every business will have software development expertise at its core. Many of these companies will be brand new; others – having not written a line of code in 20 years – will have been on a momentous journey. New digital products and services will drive the transformation of IT infrastructure as businesses struggle to manage 1000x more users and 1000x more data. We believe that this monumental change is rich with opportunity, and we see ourselves as the transformational catalyst, and partner, for our customers,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service