90% of Enterprises That Didn’t Accelerate Digital Transformation in COVID-19 Pandemic ‘Lost Business’

MUMBAI, India — A recent report shows when enterprises were faced with digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, 90% of those that didn’t accelerate their implementations “lost business” as a result. 

“Business Transformation After the Digital Tipping Point” gauges the priorities, challenges, and progress of digital transformation leaders at enterprises in their transformation journey.

The report was released this week by Mumbai, India-based WNS, a business process management company.

A survey tied to the report shows the COVID-19 pandemic has both accelerated and expanded digital transformation initiatives, such as the optimizing and automation of client-facing and back-office business processes as well as the migration of data, applications, and services to the cloud. The levels of digital adoption vary across industries.  

The report explains that enterprises are focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), data-driven approaches and analytics, and social media intelligence to fuel their digital transformations, particularly to improve the high-priority area of customer experience (CX). 

However, many enterprises lack the strong data governance and cybersecurity foundations required to take advantage of leading digital technologies, the report indicates.

Report Findings

•  37% of companies lost a significant amount of business due to slow adoption to “digital-only” business models
•  52% cited customer experience as the top priority in their transformation agenda
•  30% have accelerated the migration of data, applications, and services to cloud
•  40% plan to operate a hybrid model that combines office and remote working
• While 28% of leaders stated that digital is now part of their company’s DNA, 30% are still in the process of scaling up successful digital transformation pilots

“Clearly, advancing the digital agenda is the priority in the new normal, with a focus on building AI and analytics-powered tools, capabilities, and business models,” said Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS.  

Report Methodology

“Business Transformation After the Digital Tipping Point” is based on a survey of over 100 senior digital transformation leaders at enterprises in North America, Europe, and Australia. 

Eight industries are represented in the survey, and each company has at least USD $500 million in annual revenue. 

WNS conducted the survey and developed the report with Corinium Intelligence.