New study shows Australian businesses could use a digital reality check

A new Transformation Study 2016 from IDC and Canon shows 82 per cent of Australian businesses are well in the midst of their digital transformation journey or have at least started, the remaining 18 per cent have no digital transformation strategy or are evaluating one.  

Whilst eight out of ten believe they are on the path to digital transformation, when asked how businesses work with print and document processes only 14 per cent have completely digitised business processes, 55 per cent have low to moderate digital transformation in their document environments, and 28 per cent still have completely paper based document processes.

IDC Research Director Adam Dodds said the study shows the perception and the reality of where businesses are at is different.

“Whilst the study shows businesses have started down the path, the results indicate they’re not as advanced as they think they are and could use a digital reality check.

“Businesses need to have a strategy for a digital world not a digital strategy.  It’s critical for that strategy to start with the customer and to align the business to customer needs.  That way the business evolves with the customer.
 
“We predict by 2020, one third of top market share leaders will be significantly disrupted by competitors using new technologies. They are the driving force behind digital transformation and in order to stay relevant and competitive organisations must be willing to transform or go out of business.  The rising cost of operations, new business models and changing customer buying patterns are all factors in the disruptive state of affairs right now.”

The study shows 59 per cent of businesses are at the point where data from digital sources exceeds that from paper-based sources at 41 per cent.  The gap is anticipated to widen over the coming five years, digital sources will increase to 78 per cent and paper-based will decrease to 22 per cent by 2020.

The IDC-Canon Transformation Study 2016 examines which document-based processes and workflows are seen as critical to transform re-engineer and automate.  

The results show an extremely strong focus on back office, administrative and operational processes for improving efficiency.  In particular financial processes such as accounts payable and receivable are seen to be the most critical to transform.  These processes are viewed as “low hanging fruit” because they are both document and resource intensive and readily digitally transformed.

In terms of what outcomes IT Decision Makers are looking for from transformation, the stand out result is improved decision-making with 89 per cent of businesses citing this.

“The key here is about improving the visibility of business information to inform decision-making processes.  Efficiency dominated the other top factors being increased speed, reduced human error and reduced cost,” Mr Dodds said.

Interestingly 78 per cent said they were interested in improving employee experience, which was higher than wanting to improve customer experience at 55 per cent.

Canon Australia Head of Customer Marketing Nitya Padman believes the strong result on employee experience is because businesses realise they need to transform their processes and workflows if they’re going to attract and retain young talent. 

“Employees are a critical part of the transformation process, if employees aren’t on board it’s very hard to change processes and practices.  The study shows 47 per cent of businesses feel change management is a barrier to digital transformation and successful change hinges on employee experience.

“Trends in the study also point to differences between small to medium sized businesses and larger businesses.

“Small to medium sized businesses are heavily reliant on IT to help them stay agile, counter costs and improve productivity.  Their needs are immediate and they’re more readily able to transform to create more efficient workflows and improve ways of interacting with customers.  In short, smaller businesses are punching above their weight and moving ahead in the digital race.

“A big motivator for larger businesses to transform is the rising cost of doing business.  Larger organisations are heavily impacted by legacy systems.  This is a major deterrent to progressing at a faster pace along the digital transformation journey.

“What is clear is whatever size the business it’s critical to understand and be realistic about where you’re at in the digital transformation journey or risk getting left behind.”


About the Research
IDC-Canon Transformation Study 2016 170 phone based interviews with Australian organisations of +100 employee sizes
- Target audience: Key users, IT decision makers and influencers of ECM / document workflow usage and adoption
- Key verticals: Legal, utility, insurance, construction and manufacturing
- Job roles targeted included accounts payable/receivable, HR, forms/claims and payroll along with IT based roles and C-Suite

About IDC
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com
 
About Canon Australia
Canon is the world’s leading imaging brand that actively inspires and enables people to achieve more than they ever thought they could through products, services and solutions for business and consumers. Canon’s Australian R&D company, CiSRA, develops and exports digital imaging technologies for use in Canon products worldwide. Canon has ranked among Canon has ranked among the top-five US patent recipients* for the past 30 years, and had global revenues of more than $US31 billion in 2015. Also part of the Canon Group in the Oceania region are Canon Finance, SunStudios, Converga and Harbour IT.
For more information, visit www.canon.com.au/transform

* Based on weekly patent counts issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office


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