Singapore firms unprepared for digital disruption, C-suite to blame?

• Survey of IT and business leaders shows most aware of challenges ahead
• Organisations would perform better if their C-suite was more tech-savvy

 
MANY companies are not prepared for the inevitable impact of digital disruption, with most IT and business leaders in these organisations pointing their fingers at their C-suite.
 
In a global survey of over 2,700 IT and business decision-makers (ITDMs and BDMs), commissioned by Juniper Networks and conducted by Wakefield Research, more than half of the respondents (55% of ITDMs and 51% of BDMs) expect a new disruptive technology, product or service to be introduced to their industry within the next two years.
 
However, IT departments aren’t feeling prepared for the changes ahead, Juniper Networks said in a statement.
 
Almost half (45%) of ITDMs surveyed believe a quarter or more of their IT workforce will not have the skills they need to succeed five years from now.
 
The survey polled respondents from Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom.
 
Three hundred respondents were polled in Singapore, of which 200 were ITDMs and 100 were BDMs.
 
“Singapore has seen strong growth as a regional and international tech hub, with a rapidly increasing emphasis on the performance, automation and openness which technology brings,” said Juniper Networks’ South-East Asia managing director Ashish Dhawan.
 
“It is thus crucial that companies embrace the digital disruption, with an onus on the C-suite to drive stronger top-down understanding and adoption of technological innovation, in order to retain the edge the region has built up in today’s highly competitive global landscape,” he added.
 
Key Singapore specific highlights from the report:
 

• Over nine in 10 respondents (90% of ITDMs and 93% of BDMs) admit their organisation would perform better if their current C-suite was more tech-savvy.

• More than half (70% of ITDMs and 67% of BDMs) of respondents expect a new disruptive technology, product or service to be introduced into their industry within two years or less.

• 73% of ITDMs surveyed agree that their C-Suite does not view the network as vital to company success.

• Almost all (99%) of ITDMs and BDMs surveyed recognise that there are obstacles preventing the changing/upgrading of their company’s IT infrastructure.

• 90% of BDMs surveyed admit they circumvented IT staff in 2015 because they were unable to offer the capabilities or responsiveness needed for a company initiative, the highest among all countries surveyed, significantly more than global BDMs (75%) overall.

• 94% of ITDMs and 96% of BDMs surveyed agree that network and IT automation is essential for their company to be competitive in the future.

“True innovation requires an understanding of the value that technology delivers. Now more than ever, savvy technology investments are vital to maintaining a business advantage,” said Juniper Networks chief executive officer Rami Rahim (pic).
 
“The C-Suite doesn’t need to code, but leading a company strategy for growth requires a strong relationship between those who set the strategy and those who execute,” he added.
 
To address the skills gap currently hindering organizations from fully capitalising on opportunities stemming from the expected digital disruption, Juniper Networks has announced an expansion of its OpenLab programme to seven locations worldwide.
 
OpenLab provides customers, partners, academics and other industry leaders with hands-on access to network automation workshops, educational programmes and dedicated lab resource, the company said.
 
Related Stories:
 
IT managers need to step up and drive the business: Pikom
 
CFOs under digital pressure, CIOs under CFO pressure
 
The C-suite and the Uber fear factor: IBM study
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.