Context
This year has seen a lot of introspection especially in Tech Spends. Digitization continues its juggernaut with IT spends on ‘Digital Transformation’ forecasted to reach $4.4 Trillion this year by Gartner. Our conversations with more than 100 CXO’s over the last one year has not only given us an inside view into their mind with respect to expectations from ‘digitalization initiatives’ but also an understanding on how the market is evolving. Earlier, an organization wide digitalization initiative was seen as a purview of the deep pocketed. This has been democratized with ‘going digital’ being tantamount to ‘surviving’ across sectors and sizes.
The 7 Key Trends
Scaling digital – in an Intelligent, Secure & Quick way
Organizations are bringing into focus applications that drive intelligence, promote security and showcase quick wins. There is a renewed focus on deriving intelligence through analytics, AI/ML technologies. Cybersecurity also comes into center stage with multiple teams being created to bolster this agenda. The approach to systems now has become modular, open to enable speedy deployments and showcase results.
Modernization
In a bid to scale digital, 8 out of 10 organizations, are focusing on modernizing their tech. landscape. A lot of clients are looking at rationalizing their technology assets, simplify the architecture and infuse modern development practices that are future proof and open. These decisions are typically driven by the intense need to show case quick wins, even if they are in pockets.
Cost pressures
Cost pressures have got organizations to seek optimization and efficiencies in their tech landscape/deployments. This has also led to vendor consolidation that helps with garnering the best cost advantage. Clients look to their service providers to accelerate automation efforts, identify process improvement opportunities, reduce productivity leakages.
Product centric delivery thinking
More and more clients are looking at adopting a product centric delivery mindset and move beyond ‘project thinking’. They’re creating teams from both business & technology functions which have competencies to visualize the roadmap for their ‘solution/product’ and continuously refresh based on the larger business strategy
Standardization focus
Organizations are preferring standard products and platforms to deploying custom build solutions. So, SaaS based products and platforms such as Workday, Automation anywhere, UI Path and other enterprise solutions etc. are seeing an uptick.
Changing service provider mix
Everyone has joined the bandwagon to provide digital transformation services. This market is crowded to say the least. The players range from hyper-scalers like Amazon/Google/Microsoft, to Consulting firms like Deloitte, EY, PwC etc., to conventional large SIs such as Accenture, TCS, Infosys etc., to Niche/boutique firms having deep domain expertise. Each to trying to differentiate & penetrate through their own strengths
Not purely a Tech Play
There is a change of guard amongst key decision makers of digital technology investments. Investment decisions and ownership of digitalization initiatives are with heads of businesses or functions. Earlier, any or all technology investments were seen as a bastion of the CIO office/Technology/IT function
Conclusion
Clearly, as the market has matured the clients have become extremely demanding. Since digitalization is driven by businesses, and a quick impact is key expectation, building deep domain skills is amongst the more critical success factors needed to ensure quick deployments.
It is hardly needed to overemphasize the importance of building tech skills and keeping in pace with rapidly changing technologies that form the heart of transformation offerings.
The solutions that the market requires also would require service providers to work collaboratively and create a robust partner eco system. This will ensure that gaps in service offerings of one player is bridged by partnering others. It will be interesting to see how the impact of these services has been on business in the mid term time frame. We can then predict if digitalization as we see it now is here to stay.
