Why digital transformation always needs to start with customers first

Customers’ expectations, preferences, changing patterns in how and why they purchase need to be the core of any digital transformation effort.

63% of organisations say delivering an excellent customer experience as measured by customer satisfaction scores defines success as a digital-first business, according to a recent IDG study. 67% of CEOs say acting with agility is “the new currency of business; if we’re too slow, we will be bankrupt,” according to...

15 September 2020 | Applications

Why shifting societal sands create the perfect storm for successful stakeholder capitalism

Companies stuck in the same gear of doing things in the old way – merely oiling the moving parts of the aging corporate machine, making money, and delighting shareholders – are slowly slipping into obscurity. Instead, we are now seeing the increasing rise of the business that puts all stakeholders at the centre of all things. It is a new form of stakeholder capitalism that shifts the business compass from what it perceives to be doing good – to actually doing...

21 May 2020 | CIO

Report: Global IT spending forecast to rise 3.4% year on year to almost £3tn in 2020

Gartner has forecast in its latest report that worldwide IT spending is forecast to reach £2.95 trillion ($3.9tn), an increase of 3.4% year over year in 2020. Global IT spending is expected to hit almost £4 trillion in 2021.

One of the fastest growing markets in 2020 will be the software market – that is expected to grow 10.5%. The report also predicted that growth in enterprise IT...

17 January 2020 | Cloud

From culture to communication: Why the success of your ITIL initiative depends on many factors

One of the world's most famous (or infamous) structural frameworks for process and communication management is ITIL. ITIL often is used to generate results in a service-oriented organisation. ITIL benefits frequently cited include improved customer and user satisfaction, as well as increased service-orientation for IT staff. ITIL can increase professional standards by implementing best practices for specific processes, reducing costs, and...

1 November 2019 | Collaboration

Data is becoming the linchpin at the heart of business – and here’s what comes next

According to Gartner, transforming into a digital business is the number one priority for most organisations. In fact, a brief look at Gartner’s Top Insights for the C-Suite, 2018-2019 edition, highlights that we have reached a tipping point, in terms of digitally driven businesses, for both the private and public sector.

Before we jump into the numbers what on earth are we talking about? Everyone...

23 October 2019 | Big Data

Are CIOs investing in the right technology to manage the next phase of digital transformation?

Have you noticed that your digital transformation projects are getting shorter in implementation periods? How often have you discovered a new technology that could change the outcome of what you are doing midway through a project, when it wasn’t available at the outset? Are you increasingly nervous of your competitors stealing a march on you in the race to transform?

I don’t expect there are...

1 August 2019 | Applications

Humanising automation: Understanding the five senses of artificial intelligence

In reality, AI's true potential can only be realised when organisations approach it like a portfolio of technologies, with different attributes, that work together to optimise operational efficiency whilst delivering better service levels and improving the customer and user experience.

This concept of a portfolio of technologies working together can be illustrated further by what I refer to as the...

10 May 2019 | Applications

Why Amazon is the almost perfect marketplace for the Fortune 100

Chief procurement officers (CPOs), key people who decide where and how to spend a company’s budget, have a front row seat to the unnerving trend of employees flocking to Amazon to buy what they need for work with little or no regard to policy. The allure is just too great compared to the alternative - corporate purchasing software with comparatively terrible UX.

While some company...

29 November 2018 | CIO

How to get the most out of your CRM system – and keep your customers from the brink

Acquiring new customers requires investing significant time and money, so it’s always more prudent to make every effort to keep the ones you have. Even a modest improvement in customer retention can significantly help grow your business.

You probably have all the tools you need in your CRM system, but it’s possible that your employees aren’t using the system fully. Perhaps they think the system doesn’t make their job any easier, or the data is...

7 March 2018 | CIO

How banking, manufacturing and telecoms will spend their ICT budgets in 2018

Global ICT spending will hit almost $4 trillion (£2.8tn) in 2018 according to IDC – and while the consumer market will have the largest share, major investments will take place in the manufacturing, banking, and professional services spaces.

The consumer market will account for $1.5tn in ICT spending in 2018, IDC added, but on the industrial side, banking, discrete manufacturing, telecommunications and professional services will be the four largest industries for spending....

2 February 2018 | CIO