by  Antonina Skrypnyk

Digital Leaders vs Digital Laggards

clock-icon-white  2 min read

As already discussed in previous publications, digital technologies have aggressively penetrated  a wide range of global economy sectors. But not all companies have adapted to changes in the same way. That differentiation forms two groups: those who lead digital transformation initiatives (Digital Leaders) and those neglect to make digitalization their strategic direction (Digital Laggards).

To analyze the impact digitization has on business, the Harvard Business review studied 344 enterprises. These enterprises were listed as having a median annual revenue of $3.4 billion, and included the most prominent firms in manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, financial services, and retail. According to the results of the study, companies that adopt digital transformation strategy significantly outperform digital laggards.

The average numbers of gross, operating, and profit margin were taken as benchmarks.

digital-leaders-vs-digital-laggards-1
  1. Customer experience, interaction, and expectation management
    • Digital leaders are 2.5 times more likely to use real-time data and analytics to deliver tailored customer experiences
    • 2.5 times more likely to use analytics to develop perceptual intelligence about customers
    • 2.6 times more likely to use analytics to anticipate business actions and reduce customer outflow
  2. Operational activities and core business operations
    • Digital leaders are 1.5 times more likely to optimize production flows based on demand forecast
    • 1.7 times more likely to predict equipment downtime using advanced analytics
    • 2.3 times more likely to use predictive modeling to anticipate customer suppor t requests
    • 2.33 times more likely to envision product design by capturing data on current product use
    • 1.8 times more likely to monitor products remotely, driving customer support based on data insights
    • And 1.9 times more likely to use data to benchmark customers, providing solutions for greater value
  3. Internal resources, employee experience and productivity
    • Digital leaders are 2.6 times more likely to collect data on employee performance and generate recommendations for further development
    • 1.4 times more likely to empower employees with access to self-service business intelligence and data visualization tools
    • And 1.7 times more likely to allow employees to define and receive real-time alerts for more efficient business management

In order to successfully adopt digital transformation, digital leaders need to build robust capabilities in all three directions.

See how SoftServe partners with Financial Services clients to embrace digital transformation in Digital Transformation – Undergoing a Few Ages of Change.