Peter Griffin, Editor. 27 January 2022, 10:08 am
The ongoing pandemic has been the driver for organisations to shift to a “digital-first” strategy, which for many of them represents “an extraordinary migration of mindset,” according to IDC.
The IT industry analyst group has just published its latest IDC FutureScape report, which you can purchase for a mere $4,500, outlining its vision for how organisations across New Zealand and Australia will deploy technology over the next five years.
While IDC’s surveying reveals 87% of organisations in the region treated the pandemic as an opportunity to pursue a digital-first strategy, necessitated in many cases by their need to keep operating during lockdowns, the period ahead will pose a complex array of challenges. New digital-first ready players will emerge and businesses have to deal with changing societal norms, sustainability imperatives and systemic industry change.
“Organisations that can harness the turbulence, will gain the advantage. They will leap ahead of the competition to capture those rare opportunities associated with systemic industry change”, says Louise Francis, IDC New Zealand’s country manager.
“Digital-first is an aspiration and a representation of the culture of the organisation. It is not about technology or business models deployed. It is an approach to apply to every business activity or investment decision to meet the head and crosswinds in 2022 and beyond”.
So what are IDC’s 2022 predictions for the IT industry in New Zealand and Australia?
1. Digital-first drivers targeting customer experience and operating models.
By 2024, digital-first enterprises in ANZ will enable empathetic customer experiences and resilient operating models by shifting 75% of all tech and services spending to as-a-service and outcomes-centric models.
2. New cloud fundamentals will be driven by business outcomes.
By 2022, 40% of publicly listed ANZ organisations will reset cloud selection processes to focus on business outcomes rather than IT requirements, valuing access to providers’ portfolios from device to edge and from data to ecosystem.
3. Governance readiness becomes a critical capability.
By 2023, 75% of ANZ enterprises will use AI-assisted, cloud-linked governance services to manage, optimise, and secure dispersed resources/data, but 70% will not achieve full value due to IT skills mismatches.
4. Portfolio inflation dangers emerge with everything ‘as a service’.
By 2022, 45% of large ANZ enterprises’ IT budgets will be redistributed due to adoption of integrated as-a-service bundles in areas of security, cloud platforms, virtual workspace, and connectivity.
5. Systemic industry change is on the horizon.
By 2026, industry leaders in ANZ facing systemic or mandated transitions in the coming decade triple IT spend for new environments but struggle to achieve the needed 6x gains in IT operational efficiency.
6. Augmentation will trump automation.
By 2024, 65% of publicly listed ANZ organisations will gain twice as much, in terms of meaningful returns, on tech investments that augment employee/customer activities compared with ones that automate individual processes.
7. Digital sovereignty compels data governance restructures.
By 2026, regional divergences in data privacy, security, and placement/use/disclosure mandates will force 80% of ANZ enterprises to restructure their data governance processes built on an autonomic foundation.
8. Back to physical will redefine customer and employee experience to counter virtual fatigue.
By 2023, 40% of publicly listed ANZ businesses will shift half of their new technology hardware/connectivity spending to modernise and reconceptualise in-person experiences for customers and employees in their own locations.
9. Digital sustainability will come of age.
By 2025, 65% of publicly listed ANZ organisations will have digital sustainability teams, tasked with assessing, certifying, and coordinating use of business and IT sustainability data and analytic platforms offered by ICT providers.
10. Data controls will need to be tested and substantiated.
By 2025, public enterprises’ valuations in ANZ will be based as much on confidence in data controls for proper/effective use of data as in financial controls, focusing increased spend on data-centric solutions.