The past year was marked by geopolitical tensions significantly affecting the economic condition and sense of stability of businesses. According to a study conducted by CGI, leaders point out inflation as the most dynamic indicator in the near future. They identify maintaining a balance between rising business costs and operational efficiency as the greatest challenge.
Periodic, global CGI studies based on interviews with senior management responsible for business and technological decisions in companies indicate the latest trends and challenges associated with running a business at this time. As many as 72% of respondents admitted in the latest edition that digitization will be crucial for satisfying consumer needs, and 53% of them admit that demographic changes can significantly affect the running of effective business operations. If rising inflation and the risk of a global recession are added to all this, the solution will be to reconfigure the existing business model and thorough analysis of the efficiency of all processes in the organization.
– The year 2024 will continue to be a year of rising geopolitical tensions, which will affect both the business landscape and consumers themselves. Stability and security will directly result from the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Respondents of our global survey, indicating the importance of the digital transformation of processes or noticing the impact of macro trends on business conditions, show that they are aware of this – says Bartłomiej Nieścierowicz, CGI Senior Vice President & Business Unit Leader in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia (PLLE).
What was important will become even more important
The survey shows that compared to 2022, in 2023 cybersecurity, compliance with regulations, and recognition of the potential for sustainable development actions gained a special priority. This is a significant shift in focus. While improving consumer experiences remained on the list of most important priorities in 2022, business now focuses directly on operations and securing processes inside the organization as much as possible.
– There is nothing to suggest that this will change in the coming year. The global trends we have observed so far will continue to gain momentum. Strong organizations will initially focus on their own infrastructure and resilience to risks – says Nieścierowicz
Digital transformation influenced and influences the development of organizations
Over 90% of respondents admitted that their organizations have digital strategies, and 31% of them are currently extending them to their external ecosystem. Although we see significant progress compared to the responses of respondents from previous years, only 30% of the surveyed decision-makers claim that their organizations achieve the expected results thanks to digital strategies – these companies are identified as digital leaders.
Only 1 in 5 directors, with whom interviews were conducted, extends their data strategy to the entire value chain and partners. The two most common areas of investment are improving the quality of acquired data and investing in their management and analytics – as many as 83% of decision-makers pointed this out.
The CGI study also revealed a correlation between the flexibility of a business model and the results that the implementation of a digital strategy brings. Managers who indicate that the flexibility of their organization’s business model is at a high level are three times more likely to achieve the expected results.
– Delivering solutions that allow for carrying out a digital transformation focused on the expected return on investment is the basis of our approach to clients. The difference between organizations that have a digital strategy and those that achieve desired results shows that we are at an early stage of comprehensive digitization of companies. Difficult and unpredictable economic conditions require high flexibility and looking for solutions whose implementation will be consistent with the given organization’s strategy and, above all, bring the expected return. In 2024 we will focus even more on a comprehensive approach to the organization – summarizes Bartłomiej Nieścierowicz.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SURVEY
Every year, CGI conducts a survey among executives responsible for business and IT decisions in their organizations. Insights from decision-makers provide a deep and realistic picture of the digital transformation process of organizations. In 2023, 1764 high-level managers from around the world were surveyed.
