Verizon Connect research shows ‘say-do’ gap is hindering digital transformation of Irish businesses

Leaders struggling to harness the power of data despite strong digital transformation ambitions

Businesses in Ireland are failing to fully harness the power of data despite identifying digital transformation as a core leadership priority to drive positive business outcomes, according to new research released by Verizon Connect today.

The survey undertaken by iReach on behalf of Verizon Connect shows that close to 7 in 10 business leaders have made harnessing the power of data a key business priority in the coming year. However, despite this, 4 in 10 have not even considered how they can leverage the data within their fleet of company vehicles to drive productivity, increase efficiencies and improve the customer experience.

The main findings from the Verizon Connect research show that:

• 81 percent of business leaders believe digital transformation will have a positive impact on their business processes;
• Top 3 areas of digital transformation investment in 2018 are technology transformation (52 percent), customer experience transformation (38 percent) and supply chain transformation (23 percent);
• 65percent of Irish business leaders consider harnessing the power of data to be a key business priority for 2018;
• 41 percent of businesses have not considered harnessing the power of data in their fleet to enable better business outcomes;
• Greatest challenge for businesses seeking to harness the power of fleet data is controlling costs (41 percent) with safety and security only being a concern for 1 in 10 business decision makers.

To mark the publication of the research findings, Derek Ryan, Vice-President, Verizon Connect, said: “With new technologies transforming the way people, vehicles and things move throughout the world, it is positive to see that almost 7 in 10 Irish business leaders are looking towards data to drive future growth and competitiveness.

“However, despite a widespread acknowledgement on the need to undergo digital transformation, our research points to a worrying ‘say-do’ gap which has emerged amongst business leaders. More than 4 in 10 businesses have not even considered harnessing the power of data from their most heavily utilised resource – their fleet of company vehicles.

“To close this gap, leaders must set out a clear strategy as to how existing data across all of the business can be leveraged to deliver efficiencies and enhance the customer experience. With data being the fuel powering digital transformation, now is the time to turn business insights into genuine opportunity that can accelerate growth both now and into the future.”

Top 3 Digital Transformation Investments:

The research found that the number one investment by business leaders undertaking a digital transformation strategy is technology transformation (52 percent). This is followed by customer experience transformation (38 percent) and supply chain transformation (27 percent). These findings point towards a strong emphasis on using new technologies to improve business processes that ultimately benefit the end consumer. This is reflected in the fact 8 in 10 business leaders believe digital transformation will have a positive impact on their business.

Challenges to Harnessing the Power of Data:

Despite the stated ambition to embrace technology transformation, leaders are struggling to harness the power of data within their business. 41 percent of Irish businesses have stated that controlling costs is the biggest challenge to leveraging data from across their operations. Surprisingly, safety and security were only a concern for 10 percent of leaders.

Fleet management systems, like those from Verizon Connect, can help businesses harness their data to gain insights in near real-time, break down silos, help reduce costs and better support their employees.