Enterprises IT teams have chosen digital innovation as their main focus following the pandemic, according to a survey by the analyst Gartner.
Although IT budgets only inched up by 2 per cent this year, chief information officers have switched their strategies to boost digital transformation. In the survey, 63 per cent of top performing companies said hey had increased their digital change budgets. In fact, those who have made this decision are 2.7 times more likely to be top performers, the analyst said.
Shifts in demand
“Although revenue took a big hit, CIOs decided to fight back rather than go into a defensive crouch,” said Andy Rowsell-Jones, research vice president at Gartner.
When asked about shifts in demand, 58 per cent of top performers reported an increase in demand from new post-COVID customers versus 49 per cent for the typical group and 37 per cent for those trailing.
CIOs also said were investing in cybersecurity – not least, because of the shift to remote working. Over six in ten (61 per cent) IT managers are increasing investment in cyber and information security. In addition, they are spending on business intelligence and data analytics (58 per cent), as well as and cloud services and solutions (53 per cent).
Global trend
The World Economic Forum estimates that about a quarter of the world’s GDP will be based on digitally-connected industries in five year’s time.
“Seizing digital opportunities begins with an understanding of digital risk; at a minimum, companies need to understand their total exposure,” said the organisation. “Following key principles of digital risk management will separate the companies that will thrive in the digital age from those that will not.”
To thrive, companies will need to learn how to capture the opportunities that digitalisation presents. It said that businesses should consider digital risk as an enterprise wide issue – rather than just as something for the IT deparment to grapple with. Also, it said, executives should constantly challenge their assumptions about the risks they face. “A constant dialogue with experts within the company and outside – keeping a pulse on global trends – is more essential than ever,” it said.
Risk certificate
To help risk managers cope with such fast-moving change, IRM offers a Digital Risk Management Certificate. The course provides a basis for understanding digital disruption, its causes and its consequences. It equips students with the tools and techniques of professional risk management to mitigate the risks inherent in the digital world of the fourth industrial revolution.
