What Will Happen To Digital After Two Years? Look At the Survey of Progress Software

An interesting survey has been conducted by Progress Software Corporation PRGS on the digital living or digital denial. The company did the survey during the first quarter of the current year by Loudhouse, which is a special research segment of Octopus Group. The survey found that businesses have less than two years to make digital inroads before suffering financial, as well as, competitive losses. Progress Software said that while most businesses recognized the inherent gains of "going digital," the company said that the majority of respondents were hitting roadblocks—lack of internal alignment, lack of adequate skills and plenty of cultural resistance. Along with the technology constraints and an overall inability to execute, the company said that the result was a growing state of anxiety about embarking on digital transformation. Interestingly, the survey found that some of the businesses feared that it was already too late. The company's VP, Digital Solutions, Mark Troester, commented, "Digital technologies are radically transforming business as we know it today and the driving force of change is based on the customer experience. Yet, many organizations continue to resist change. There needs to be a rapid awakening and acceptance that organizations must digitally transform to survive—and do it now. This survey brings to light the reality of today's digital transformation challenges, helping to educate and equip businesses with the information they need to succeed. Broad ‘digital' concern has been palpable, but now we have data to prove it." Progress pointed out the key findings of the survey. One among them was 96% of organizations see digital transformation as key or critical. However, 62% said that their organization was in denial about the need to transform digitally. The second key factor was that 86% said they have two years to make inroads before suffering financial or competitive consequences. Interestingly, 55% say a year or less while 59% are worried they may already be too late. Another key takeaway was that 99% viewed the main driver for digital transformation as optimizing customer experiences and engagement. Similarly, 61% said that customer engagement was a #1 priority for the next 12 months while 50% plan to invest in building applications in the next year Progress survey brought that 72% of the respondents felt that IT would more likely to be the final decision maker/budget holder for digital initiatives whereas 78% pointed out that better alignment of IT and marketing was needed to deliver on digital transformation efforts. Another 58% viewed a high reliance on IT to deliver strategy is a barrier to provide improved customer experience through digital transformation. Shares of the company traded 0.64 percent on Monday.