Many of those surveyed also expressed concern around increased operational confusion, and the need to embed additional processes and technology in the wake of digitalisation.

However, these issues do not appear to be reducing the appetite for transformative digitalisation among executives surveyed for the report; in fact the pandemic has accelerated this activity for many as the world moves ever more quickly online, and competitive pressures increase.

According to the survey of 300 executives, who as part of their roles are buyers, users and/or suppliers of cloud and digital services, other key drivers for digital transformation include the ability to attract and retain talent, to improve collaboration and internal processes, and to better understand customers.

“Agility and innovation are uppermost in the minds of businesses when they are considering transformation. Factors such as bringing new products and services to market more quickly or using data to support new, strategic decision making as well as data monetisation weigh heavily in the decision for digital transformation,” Sue McLean, IP, data and technology partner, Baker McKenzie said.

However, the monetisation of data and new tech appears to be one of the great untapped benefits of digitalisation, with most companies still focused first and foremost on becoming more operationally efficient rather than using digital transformation to seize new business opportunities and monetise new offerings, according to the survey.

Those executives surveyed also remain particularly concerned about cyber security, with 42 per cent of respondents citing the need to “improve cybersecurity” as one of the top-three drivers of accelerating digital transformation, due to the pandemic.

The vast majority of respondents, spread across countries including Australia, US, Brazil, UK, France, Germany and Singapore, also said they were currently investing “heavily or very heavily” in data security.

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Meanwhile, trying to integrate new and legacy systems remains the leading barrier to digital transformation. Therefore business leaders are now looking to learn from recent experiences of similar companies, cut through the tech hype, and reduce financial and operational risks.

Cloud and blockchain are key enablers 

Meanwhile, the number one digital transformation enabler remains cloud computing, with the survey also finding a marked increase in the reliance on private cloud services, driven in part by the promise of better data security and disaster recovery. 

This has been further accelerated by the adoption of remote working among businesses due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

Adam Aft, technology partner and cloud specialist said consumers are creating and acquiring digital content across multiple platforms, “and the way in which they use and share that content itself creates an extensive data footprint.” 

“This means ‘big data’ applications – quantifying, interpreting and responding to individuals’, groups’, companies’ and governments’ activities on a real-time basis – depend heavily on the availability of cloud computing services and infrastructure,” he said.

Operational efficiency was a central goal when adopting cloud-based services, but this varied quite significantly across industries, according to the report. Financial institutions (68 per cent) and healthcare and life sciences companies (67 per cent) are most likely to benefit from becoming more operationally efficient as a result of cloud-based IT, while tech, media/telecoms, and consumer goods and retail (CG&R) companies view cloud as helping improve the company’s business agility.

Blockchain has also grown rapidly in importance as an enabler to success. The report found usage of blockchain in supply chain management has increased more than tenfold in just three years, with 42 per cent of survey respondents reporting they use blockchain today, versus just 4 per cent who did so in 2017.

Businesses in the industrials, manufacturing and transportation sector (IMT) are some of the most likely to have adopted blockchain technology, given their complexity of supply chains in these industries.

Peter George, technology transactions partner, concluded that data remains at the absolute core of all of these discussions.

“The value of data to business is undeniable. It lies at the core of a successful technology strategy in 2020, whether it is the storage, collection, protection, analysis or use of this data. Respondents from this year’s survey see it as one of the most important business drivers they have,” he said.

Lawyers Weekly has relaunched its 2020 Corporate Counsel Summit, to be held on 5-6 November. This free live-stream event is a must-attend, providing in-house lawyers with the latest insights and trends that are shaping the way of the future.

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