More than half of businesses are in digital denial

Businesses are under increasing pressure to improve their customer experiences and make more effective use of their digital communication channels.

Yet new research from apps, data development and integration company Progress shows that 62 percent of respondents believe their business is in denial about the need to transform digitally.

What's more 70 percent of UK-based respondents think that reliance on the IT team is the biggest barrier to delivering a good customer experience. Globally 72 percent think IT is most likely to be the final decision maker for digital initiatives.

Better collaboration between IT and marketing is needed to deliver digital initiatives according to 78 percent. But there's concern that the clock is ticking, 86 percent say they have two years to make inroads before suffering financial or competitive consequences. 55 percent say they have a year or less and 59 percent are worried they may already be too late.

"Digital technologies are radically transforming business as we know it today and the driving force of change is based on the customer experience. Yet, many organizations continue to resist change. There needs to be a rapid awakening and acceptance that organizations must digitally transform to survive -- and do it now," says Mark Troester, vice president, digital solutions at Progress. "This survey brings to light the reality of today's digital transformation challenges, helping to educate and equip businesses with the information they need to succeed. Broad 'digital' concern has been palpable, but now we have data to prove it".

To help businesses with their digital transformations, Progress is about to launch DigitalFactory, a new cloud-based platform that provides a solution for businesses to create digital experiences. DigitalFactory solutions enable collaboration, flexibility and ease for IT, marketers, developers and business users looking to implement digital transformation within their organizations.

"When we set forth on our own digital transformation journey, we identified four fundamentals for success -- optimise customer engagement, collaborate with partners, unburden IT and simplify operations," says Phil Pead, CEO of Progress. "Our vision and DigitalFactory solutions are a direct result of living these tenets each day. We know technology is not the entire answer. Rather, it's part of a larger perspective that includes a shift in thinking and stronger levels of collaboration between the CIO and CMO. Progress has the experience, capabilities and technology to partner with our community of digital decision makers to ensure we’re arming them with the right tools to put them on the path they need to succeed".

More details of the research are available on the Progress website. DigitalFactory solutions are set to be available in the third quarter of this year.

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