Only 5.7% of Malaysian businesses effective with digital transformation: IDC

• IDC study assessed organisations’ stage of maturity in digital transformation
• 5 dimensions: Leadership, Omni-Experience, WorkSource, Operating Model, Info

LESS than 6% of businesses in Malaysia are digital disruptors, organisations that have mastered the alignment of digital strategies with long-term business goals, according to a recent study by International Data Corporation (IDC).
 
The study, commissioned by Malaysia’s national ICT custodian the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), assessed organisations’ stage of maturity in digital transformation initiatives.
 
Results of the study were released at the third CIO Survival Guide event, organised by MDeC and IDC, to help business and IT leaders understand and cope with the challenges and opportunities digital transformation can bring to their businesses.

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According to IDC, digital transformation (DX) will drive changes in enterprise business models and ecosystems by leveraging digital competencies.
 
Business leaders today need to transform and lead digitally powered organisations that are not only adaptive to change, but able to predict and drive it, the research and analyst firm said in a statement.
 
“Digital transformation is one means of creating self-adapting businesses that can rapidly respond to change,” said Roger Ling (pic), research director, Asean Custom Solutions, IDC Malaysia.
 
“These organisations will not only weather the coming storm, but also thrive on it. Malaysian businesses will need to make a stand as to how they will address the new and changing marketplace,” he added.
 
DX MaturityScapes survey
 
For the study, IDC used its DX MaturityScape to assess organisations’ stage of maturity in five key dimensions: Leadership DX, Omni-Experience DX, WorkSource DX, Operating Model DX, and Information DX.
 
The study identifies the stages, dimensions, outcomes, and actions required for Malaysian businesses to digitally transform themselves, IDC said in its statement.

Key findings:

• Digital Resister: 8.1% of organisations fall under the ad hoc stage, clearly representing room for growth and the untapped potential of digital transformation within organisations.

• Digital Explorer: The majority of organisations (63.2%) fall under the opportunistic stage. This means digitally-enabled customer experiences and products tend to be inconsistent and poorly integrated.

• Digital Player/ Transformer: A higher percentage of organisations in Stage 4 (12.5%) of the MaturityScape as opposed to Stage 3 (10.5%). This means that there are already players in the market that see themselves as Digital Transformers.

• Digital Disruptor: Only 5.7% of the total business leaders are digital disruptors, the optimised stage. This represents organisations that have mastered the alignment of digital strategies with long-term business goals.

IDC said most organisations will find themselves wanting with regard to managing and leveraging the five disciplines addressed in its study. Many will attempt to transform through a series of initiatives, targeting specific digital competencies while losing sight of the interplay and synergies that are needed for true DX.
 
Organisations that master the orchestration of the five disciplines will thrive; those that don't will struggle to survive, said Ling.
 
Themed Close Encounter to the 3^rd Platform, this third volume of the CIO Survival Guide was designed to help Malaysian business leaders from organisations of all sizes and across industries to transform digitally.
 
“We believe there is so much that the digital emerging trends – namely the cloud, big data analytics and the Internet of Things – have to offer CIOs (chief information officers) in providing creative solutions to customers, and contributing to the overall growth and revenue of their organisations,” said MDeC chief operating officer Ng Wan Peng.
 
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