Failure to complete digital transformation to hit revenue

Four out of five businesses (81 per cent) are expected to see a negative impact on revenue in the next 12 months if they fail to complete digital transformation initiatives, according to a global survey of IT decision makers (ITDMs) by MuleSoft, a platform provider for building application networks. The Connectivity Benchmark Report 2018 on digital transformation initiatives and the business impact of APIs looks at how ITDMs are handling digital transformation, IT operations and change management. While IT budgets have remained relatively static, ITDMs have seen project volumes grow, on average, by 27 per cent. As a result, IT departments are being stretched even thinner. Most concerning, the study reveals, is an IT delivery gap, with two-thirds of ITDMs admitting they were unable to deliver all projects asked of them last year. One of the main contributors to the growing IT delivery gap is integration, which continues to be a significant drain on time, budget and resources. The survey results show the vast majority (89 per cent) of ITDMs believe that integration challenges are slowing or hindering digital transformation within their organisations. It is clear that organisations need to adopt a more efficient IT operating model. Yet, this is easier said than done as ITDMs continue to face the age-old dilemma of “keeping the lights on” versus innovating. Furthermore, when it comes to building new applications and services, it is very common for development teams to work in isolation, meaning organisations are unable to discover and reuse the assets that have been created.