Lack of talent, rigid business models impede digital transformation: Wipro

Lack of digital talent and rigid business models are among the biggest obstacles enterprises face while undertaking the digital transformational journey, a survey by Wipro Digital showed.

More than 58% of respondents, especially from the UK region, said the lack of digital talent was one of their top five concerns and 56% said there was a need to change the company’s business.

Around 52% of respondents cited that partners supporting the digital transformation journey were not being able to deliver solutions. 

The survey was carried out with the help of Coleman Parkes Research by interviewing nearly 1,400 C-suite executives globally in companies with more than 5,000 employees and garnering $500 million in revenue.

The report also claims that if a company has been undergoing digital transformation for some time, then technology and not talent becomes a major issue.

“In Europe as a whole, fifteen per cent of executives with journeys between one year and 18 months cite technology as the biggest barrier, compared to 29 per cent of executives whose journey has lasted two or more years,” the company said in a statement. 

Additional findings of the survey say that while 91% respondents believe digital transformation could help in beating rivals, only 10% saw some measurable return on investments so far and fewer claim to have seen big disruptions under individual projects.

In the US, the company’s survey revealed that leadership and new ways of working could be some of the biggest obstacles. While 59% of respondents cited inconsistent sponsorship from senior leadership as one of their top five concerns, 56% cited not being able to train their existing teams to change or use new technology, methods or processes.

Almost 54% indicated needing better alignment with business stakeholders. 

"Leaders must align stakeholders and help their business units adapt to and leverage new technology, methods or processes. They need to hold fast and keep their company Boards and C-suite informed and comfortable with disruption, new ways of working, and reorient their strategy as new insights and patterns are uncovered,” said Rajan Kohli, president, Wipro Digital.

The survey showed similar trends in countries such as Canada and Germany with both reporting that leadership and new ways of working were main hurdles along with negligible return on investment. 

In Brazil and Mexico, respondents said that unplanned costs along with newer ways of working were the most difficult obstacles to overcome while undertaking digital transformation. 

While 63% of respondents in Brazil cited unforeseen costs and finding additional resources within the organization among their top five concerns, 58% selected not being able to train their existing teams to change or use new technology, methods or processes.

Wipro Digital, the digital services unit of the Bengaluru-based IT services provider Wipro, collaborates with partners such as Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Adobe to deliver customer-oriented digital transformation. 

The adoption of digital solutions to revamp enterprise processes has been gaining pace but certain constraints keep companies from realising the full potential of their plans. 

In August, a report by technology company NTT Communications found that only around half of the enterprise executives it surveyed believe their leadership team is fit to oversee the digital transformation operations. 

IT services and consulting company Accenture had found in its report that only 12% of the banks it surveyed globally have fully adopted digital transformation initiatives. 

In January, a study commissioned by Dell Technologies found that India is the most digitally mature market in the world, outscoring the likes of Japan, Singapore, France and Belgium.