A new study by PwC has found that while 80% of organisations rank digital technology integration as a priority, only one in five companies can lay claim to being a “digital” organisation.
PwC’s sixth annual Digital IQ Survey revealed how well business and information leaders understood, valued and integrated digital technology into the business as digital technology became the foundation for business strategy.
“Today, all roads lead to digital,” PwC technology industry leader for Southern Africa Johan Potgieter said on Wednesday.
“Through all of our research, CEOs have made it clear that they see both the promise and the peril of digital technology, and we believe that charting their company’s course in the digital age is the number-one challenge business leaders will face in 2014,” he commented.
This was known as the organisation’s ‘Digital IQ’, the level of which depended on the CEO’s role, the relationship between the chief information officer and chief marketing officer, how the company learnt about innovation, how it invested in information technology (IT) and how it developed its digital capabilities.
“These five behaviours are what give companies the edge, enabling them to maximise their use of digital technology across the business and position them for better performance,” said Potgieter.
The study showed that businesses with a strong digital IQ were 2.2 times more likely to be top performers in revenue growth, profitability and innovation.
PwC surveyed 1 500 business and IT executives across Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America and Europe.