The following blog post was guest authored by Chris Curran, a principal and Chief Technologist for PwC’s US Advisory practice.
While no one expects all companies to be on an equal footing when it comes to their level of digital IQ, it’s fascinating to see just how wide the gaps are between regions. We recently surveyed 1,500 business and IT executives and found:
If your company is one of those with ground to make up, there are five behaviors to look for and foster that help companies rise to this new challenge:
Having the CEO become an active digital champion. While many CEOs are thought of as being behind the curve, our study actually found that 77% of business and IT leaders in North America are confident about their digital acumen, more than any other region in the world.
Strengthening the relationship between the CIO and CMO. These are two departments that haven’t historically had to work together before.
An outside-in approach to digital innovation: ideas can come from university and government labs, open source-based innovation, crowd-funded innovation, any number of places that are outside the company itself. Top performers don’t just look in for ideas – they look everywhere.
New IT platform investments. With so much change over the past 18 months, much less few years, significant upgrades are required.
Viewing digital as an enterprise capability: digital capabilities are not specific or centralized functions, but rather are woven throughout to affect all areas of the business.
What factors – cultural, structural, economic – are you seeing as those that are helping companies get more digital?”
Bio: Chris Curran is a principal and Chief Technologist for PwC’s US Advisory practice. A recognized thought leader on the topic of digital innovation, Chris helps organizations develop and apply practical approaches for emerging technologies. He co-leads PwC’s annual Global Digital IQ Survey, in which over 1,400 c-level business and technology executives express their beliefs about the role of IT in economic competition, and also writes the CIO Dashboard blog. Follow him at @CBCurran.
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