The latest Digital Ireland report from Microsoft reveals that business leaders have accelerated their digital transformations due to the Covid-19 pandemic but are only scratching the surface when keeping up with customer demand and employee engagement.
Digitisation of the Irish economy could potentially be worth in the region of €300 billion in 2023, accounting for 65% of economic output (out of a total Irish GDP of €469 billion) according to Amárach forecasts and the International Data Corporation.
- Less than 30% of senior leaders are using digital technologies to engage customers or empower employees.
- 41% admit that their customers are ahead of them when it comes to demand for digitalised services and solutions.
- 77% say that digital technology investment made since the pandemic started will have a lasting positive impact on their organisation.
- 74% agree digitalisation will enable them to attract and retain talent.
- 82% of leaders were forced to adopt digital services and technologies sooner due to the pandemic.
- 40% of technology leaders (43%) in Ireland believe they are behind the curve when it comes to having the right digital services.
- 59% of technology leaders believe they are under-utilising their organisation’s data.
- 47% of technology leaders say their people are reluctant to embrace digitalisation.
- 78% say cloud-based systems and investments are at the heart of their approach to technology and 76% say that the benefits of using cloud computing and systems far outweigh the costs (76%).
- 46% of public sector technology leaders expect to use cloud services for all computing and data requirements compared to just 24% in the private sector.- 66% of business decision makers agree that they need to move some or all of their business operations to the cloud so they can prepare for the ‘new normal’.
- Leaders remain concerned about security, cost and trust.
- After going the cloud, 36% of technology leaders say they couldn’t revert to how they did things before
- According to technology leaders, hybrid working was a key driver of the adoption of digital technologies. - 69% say they will have a ‘hybrid workforce’ in future as more staff work from home more of the time.
Speaking about the report, Kieran McCorry, National Technology Officer, Microsoft Ireland said: “The economic and transformative impact of digitalisation both on public and private sector organisations since the Covid-19 emergency began has been monumental. As the report clearly demonstrates, the last 18 months have highlighted the seismic potential of the digital economy in Ireland over the coming years. However, the report also highlights just how much more there is still to do to reach this potential – with many businesses only just now scratching the surface of digital transformation and how they use data and tools, connect with customers, or engage employees.
“Many organisations were forced to accelerate their adoption of digital technologies and as a result have seen first-hand how easily digitalisation can help them scale by introducing new products or services at pace; migrate business critical operations online; or more effectively interact with their stakeholders. While there is still some hesitancy among senior leaders to fully embrace digitalisation, leaders see that the benefits of adopting digital technologies such as the cloud, far outweigh any perceived challenges. As we look towards recovery, we are seeing enormous interest from Irish organisations of all sizes to embrace and build on their investments to realise the full economic, environmental, and business benefits of digitalisation on a much larger scale – with cloud adoption central to their plans.”
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