An Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) study by CA Technologies (NASDAQ:CA) revealed that 73 percent of Malaysian business and IT leaders surveyed agreed that their industries have been impacted by digital disruption today.
The CA Technologies APJ Digital Transformation Impact and Readiness Study, examined responses from 900 business and IT leaders across nine markets in the region, including Malaysia, on digital transformation strategies.
The survey also found that 69 percent of the Malaysian respondents agreed that their organisations have been impacted by digital disruption today. Recognising the importance of digital transformation, a majority of the respondents (82 percent) are confident that their organisations are equipped to be competitive in the digital economy in the next three years, according to the study.
Despite the positive outlook, businesses have yet to capitalise on the potential of digital transformation today. It is found that about half (51 percent) of the respondents from Malaysia have embarked on digital transformation projects with clear corporate goals, such as increasing productivity and boosting revenue.
In addition, only nine percent surveyed have fully-formed digital transformation strategies, while only eight percent are looking at fully digitalising their entire organisations. These percentages are among the lowest in the study as compared with their APJ counterparts, pointing out the urgent need for organisations in Malaysia to swiftly develop transformation initiatives and to commit to fully digitalising their organisations for them to stay relevant and competitive.
“Digital transformation can disrupt the competition when it is approached holistically and used to create new products and services, improve customer service and even build different business models or revenue streams,” said Nick Lim, vice president, ASEAN & Greater China, CA Technologies. “To succeed in today’s digital economy, business and IT leaders have to be bold in harnessing disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, data analytics and microservices, while ensuring that everyone in the organisation is aligned and working collaboratively towards a common goal.”
The research also revealed that most organisations are still rolling out digital transformation initiatives with the desire to improve operational efficiencies (56 percent), create different business models and/or revenue streams (49 percent), followed by workforce productivity and collaboration (47 percent). However, only 43 percent of respondents have the right technologies and technical skillsets to enable digital transformation.
The study suggests that a clear digital transformation roadmap is absent in Malaysia today. Only approximately one-third of the Malaysia business and IT leaders surveyed are confident in their organisations’ IT capabilities to support digital transformation initiatives.
| IT capabilities in supporting digital transformation initiatives | |
| My organisation has clearly laid out a roadmap and role that technology plays in the company’s digital transformation vision. | 32% |
| My organisation can create, launch and maintain quality apps as part of overall digital transformation efforts. | 30% |
| My organisation can support technology resources and requirements with agility according to business peaks and lows such as headcount and campaign periods. | 35% |
| My organisation has the right manpower and talents to provide always-available IT support to enable smooth running of computing resources. | 31% |
| My organisation has invested in the right resources to provide staff with next-generation computing resources. | 34% |
| My organisation has set the right policies and technologies in place to protect against cyber-attacks and ensure a secure digital environment. | 34% |
“To stay competitive in the digital era, organisations need to be Built to Change. By building software into the business DNA, organisations will be able to deliver an enhanced customer experience; with insights and tools to shape and predict new customer demands, create new services and business models. The Modern Software Factory blueprint helps businesses leverage software to achieve their digital transformation goals and win in the market,” added Lim.
About the CA Technologies Asia Pacific & Japan Digital Transformation Impact and Readiness Study
CA Technologies commissioned and completed a survey of 900 business and IT leaders across nine markets in the APJ region – Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand – in late 2017. The objectives of the study were to measure the impact of digital disruption in the region and understand how organisations are managing their digital transformation.
All survey respondents came from mid- to large-sized organisations with more than 250 employees, with almost half (47 percent) of those interviewed representing large organisations with more than 1,000 staff. All respondents were decision makers – 74 percent for business decisions and 26 percent for IT decisions. All surveyed leaders were also involved in digital transformation initiatives in their organisations, with 74 percent being key decisions makers in digital transformation projects.
Read the full research paper here.
Download the infographic summarizing the key findings of the research here.