One-third of UK organisations have no digital transformation strategy

Computing Research reveals worrying lack of forward thinking among UK-based businesses

A third of UK-based organisations have admitted to having no digital transformation strategy.

That's one of the findings of new research from Computing, in which over 100 IT leaders at medium to large UK-based organisations were asked about their technology estate and strategy for the future.

A further 21 per cent of respondents said that they were "just getting started" on their digital transformation strategy, while 24 per cent said the strategy only exists in some parts of the business.

More positively, 17 per cent described it as a major part of their overall business strategy, and 8 per cent said they are a digital-first.

When asked about the benefits of hybrid networks (a network which comprises different circuit technologies, such as MPLS and Internet), and how they can help in digital transformation, 51 per cent of respondents cited ‘flexibility to add new services and devices'. The second most popular response was ‘lower costs', with 39 per cent, followed by ‘increased bandwidth' selected by 36 per cent of respondents.

However, whilst these benefits were acknowledged, so were several potential issues, with complexity seen as the most significant problem with hybrid networks, followed by security.

The research also covered organisations' cloud strategy, with a surprising 11 per cent claiming to have no cloud, and hence no cloud strategy, anywhere in their firms. However, 20 per cent of respondents described their organisations as ‘cloud-first' (a strategy recently criticised as being ‘cloud is the answer, what is the question?'), with four per cent claiming to be cloud only.

This research and its broader issues will be discussed in depth in Computing's upcoming webinar ‘Hybrid networks: securing digital transformation'.

The webinar will be broadcast live on 18th May at 3pm.

Computing's IT Leaders Forum 2017 is coming on 24 May 2017.

The theme this year is "Going Digital: Why your most difficult customer is your best friend".

Attendence is free, but strictly limited to IT Leaders. To find out more and to apply for your place, check out the IT Leaders Forum website.