Dell Technologies research for Asia Pacific reveals that 6% of businesses are Digital Leaders

- Only 6% of businesses in Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China have been defined as Digital Leaders – a 1% increase from 2016

- Emerging markets and regions are faring better than developed markets, with India and Thailand gaining the highest digital maturity scores in the region

- Eighty-four percent of businesses across the region report digital transformation should be more widespread throughout their organisation

 - Almost all (95%) are held back by barriers to transformation: data privacy and security; lack of budget and resources; and insufficient workforce skills

Source: Dell. There has been little change from 2016 to 2018 for digital transformation maturity.

Just 6% of businesses in Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China are Digital Leaders, according to the latest Dell Technologies Digital Transformation (DT) Index. Emerging markets/regions* are also the most digitally mature, with India and Thailand topping the regional ranking.

In collaboration with Intel and Vanson Bourne, Dell Technologies surveyed 4,600 global business leaders (director to C-suite) from mid- to large-sized companies to score their organisations’ transformation efforts. In Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China, 1,300 business leaders across 11 countries and regions including Australia, China mainland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, were surveyed.

The DT Index II has found that many businesses’ digital transformation programmes are still in their infancy. Eighty-four percent of business leaders across markets in Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China admit digital transformation should be more widespread throughout their organisation, and close to half (46%) believe they will struggle to meet changing customer demands within five years.

More than a third (35%) still worry their organisation will be left behind in the race to become a digital entity. By comparing the results with the first DT Index, launched in 2016, Dell Technologies has shown that progress has been slow. While the percentage of Digital Evaluators and Digital Adopters has increased, there has only been a 1% increase when it comes to the number of Digital Leaders. Almost four in 10 (38%) businesses are still spread across the two least-mature groups on the benchmark: Digital Laggards and Digital Followers.

The DT Index also uncovered that emerging markets/regions are outpacing their more developed counterparts in digital transformation. There are more Digital Leaders in emerging markets/regions in Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China (8%) than developed markets (4%) and far fewer Laggards and Followers. Six out of the seven most digitally mature countries/regions across Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China are emerging markets/regions – including India and Thailand.

Amit Midha, President, APJ Commercial, Dell EMC said: “In many respects, Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China is emerging as a source of innovation: in the way it fosters new business models and embraces emerging technologies. This is a tremendous opportunity for the region – but it’s also a determined period in time. To secure their digital future and progress with innovation, businesses must accelerate their transformation – rather than slow down.”

 David Webster, President, APJ Enterprise, Dell EMC, added: “Digital transformation places technology at the heart of an organisation’s products and services, to accelerate its business and help transform the customer experience. As such, it requires an equal focus on technology, people and process. Businesses are waking up to this but not in the numbers that we had hoped for by now – despite the high stakes.Over the next decade, every organisation will need to be a digital organisation. This can be achieved, if the work starts now.”

The low number of Digital Leaders can be explained by the fact that more than nine in 10 (95%) businesses have been held back by persistent barriers to transformation. The top barriers to digital transformation success in the region are data privacy and security concerns – up from 5th place in 2016. Having an ‘immature digital culture’ has risen to fourth place (from 7th in 2016). Today, more leaders are also concerned about regulation and legislative changes than they were two years ago.

The top five barriers to digital transformation success in Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China are:

- Data privacy and security concerns (up from 5th place in 2016)

- Lack of budget and resources

- Lack of the right in-house skillsets and expertise

- Immature digital culture (up from 7th place in 2016)

- Regulation and legislative changes (up from 10th place in 2016)

 On the plus side, leaders have reported common priorities and investments to aid future transformation, including an increased focus on their workforce, security and IT. However, many of these measures are not yet ubiquitous. More than half of those in the region (51%) are developing in-house digital skills and talent, for instance by teaching all employees how to code (up from 23% in 2016). The top planned technology investments for the next one to three years are:

- Cybersecurity: 61%

- Internet of Things technology: 53%

- Artificial intelligence: 50%

- Multicloud environment: 47%

- Compute-centric approach: 38%

*During the summer of 2018 (roughly Q2-Q3), independent research company Vanson Bourne surveyed 4,600 business leaders from mid- to large-size companies across 42 countries / subregions to gauge their organisations’ place on the Dell Technologies Digital Transformation Index. Vanson Bourne classified businesses’ digital business efforts by examining their IT strategy, workforce transformation initiatives and perceived performance against a core set of digital business attributes. In Asia Pacific, Japan & Greater China, 1,300 business leaders across 11 countries and regions, including Australia, mainland China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand were surveyed.