Dell Technologies Research: 83% of APJ Businesses Feel Threatened by Digital Start-ups

Dell Technologies Research: 83% of APJ Businesses Feel

Threatened by Digital Start-ups

Digital Crisis Looms: 1 in 2 Business Leaders
Fear Digital Start-ups Will Make Their

Business Obsolete Within 3-5 Years

News highlights:

·         58% of APJ businesses don’t know what their
industry will look like in three years (Global: 48%)

·         83% of businesses consider digital start-ups a
threat, either now or in the future (Global: 78%)

·         Around six in ten businesses are unable to
meet customers’ top demands

·         Globally, just 5% of businesses can be classed
as ‘Digital Leaders’

·         77% confess digital transformation could be
more widespread (Global: 73%)

TWEET THIS: New Research by @Dell: 4 out of 5
businesses in APJ feel threatened by digital start-ups http://bit.ly/2dfPNg3#DigitalTransformation

APJ – October 6,
2016 – 83% of APJ
businesses believe digital start-ups will pose a threat to their organization,
either now or in the future, according to new research from Dell Technologies announced
today. This phenomenon is propelling innovative companies forward and
accelerating the demise of others. More than half (52%) of businesses surveyed
fear they may become obsolete in the next three to five years due to
competition from digital-born start-ups (Global: 45%).

Some companies are
feeling badly bruised by the pace of change. Six in ten (61%) of APJ 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 58% of businesses in the region 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 and 12 industries.

“The influence of
digital revolution has led to a significant decline in the barriers to entry
across industries. Aided by the strong entrepreneurial spirit and government
support in the APJ region, we have witnessed the rise of numerous digital
start-ups,” said Amit Midha, President, APJ Commercial, Dell EMC. “Failing to
innovate will impact the competitiveness of established APJ businesses in the
digital era.”

Patchy Progress or
Digital Crisis looming?

Progress has been
patchy to say the least. Some companies have barely started their digital
transformation. Many have taken a piecemeal approach. Only a small minority
have almost completed their digital transformation journey. Just one in three
businesses surveyed are performing critical digital business attributes* well.
While in many businesses, only some functions of the organization are thinking
and acting digitally, the vast majority (77%) admits digital transformation
could be more widespread throughout their organization.

Around six in ten companies are unable to meet
customers’ top demands, such as better security and 24/7 faster access to
services and information. Nearly two-thirds (65%) confess to not acting on intelligence in
real-time.

“APJ is at the
epicenter of fourth industrial revolution and with customers expecting
intuitive and personalized experiences, it is imperative for businesses to
transform digitally in order to remain competitive. Although businesses across
the region are making progress, now is the time to accelerate their digital
transformation journey beginning with IT transformation” said David Webster,
President, APJ Enterprise Business, Dell EMC. “With demand for new digital
products and services meaning an exponential increase in users and data, a
focus on IT infrastructure modernization and investment in software development
skills is key for businesses to continue delivering value to their customers.”

Dell Technologies’
Digital Transformation Index supplements the research and rates companies
globally based on respondents’ perceived performance about their firms’ digital
transformation. According to the
benchmark, only 5% of businesses across 16 countries have catapulted themselves
into the Digital Leaders group; almost half are lagging behind.

1.       Digital Leaders: 5% – digital transformation, in its various
forms, is ingrained in the DNA of the business

2.       Digital Adopters: 14% – have a mature digital plan,
investments and innovations in place

3.       Digital Evaluators: 34% – cautiously and gradually embracing
digital transformation, planning and investing for the future 

4.       Digital Followers: 32% – very few digital investments;
tentatively starting to plan for the future

5.       Digital Laggards: 15% – do not have a digital plan, limited
initiatives and investments in place

Digital Rescue Plan

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

·         78% agree they need to prioritize a
centralized technology strategy for their business

·         70% are planning to invest in IT
infrastructure and digital skills leadership

·         73% are expanding their software development
capabilities 

According to
respondents in APJ, the top planned IT investments over the next three years
are:

1.       Analytics, big data and data processing
(Example: Data Lakes)

2.       Converged infrastructure

3.       Ultra-high performance technologies (Example:
Flash)

4.    Internet of Things technologies

Additionally, between
a quarter to a third of businesses have created a full digital P&L (34%);
are partnering with start-ups to adopt an open innovation model (34%); have
spun-off a separate part of the organization (31%) or intend to acquire the
skills and innovation they need through M&A (27%). Just 15% measure success
according to the number of patents they file and nearly half (46%) are
integrating digital goals into all department and staff objectives.

“Digital Transformation
is the result of blending the power of technology with a rapidly adaptable
culture that understands not only what technology can do for its business, but
why it is so important in creating the future of the enterprise,” said Daniel
Newman, principal analyst, Futurum Research. “Every C-Suite leader looking to
up their investment in digital transformation needs to understand the threats
to their industry and how technology can take their business to the next level
to stay competitive.”