A BIG number of business executives in southeast Asia believe it is quite important their organizations can adapt to the rapid changes in the current environment. However, very few of them have not crafted a digital road map.
In its first ever Asia Data Culture Study 2016 released on April 27, Microsoft Corp. reported 91 percent of business leaders polled in Southeast Asia agreed a data-driven strategy will give their organization more agility and competitiveness. However, the poll indicated only less than half of them (44 percent) said they have a full digital strategy in place. The study said business leaders in the Philippines are also facing barriers to driving digital transformation. The most common barriers include high costs, securing funding, insufficient infrastructure and systems, data security and fragmented information technology and data investments.
“In today’s mobile-first, cloud-first world, technology is interwoven into every aspect of our personal lives, forcing all businesses to be a digital business,” Herns Hermida, Microsoft Philippines Inc. business group lead for cloud and enterprise, was quoted in a statement as saying. “As data is the currency of the digital economy, businesses need to turn data into actionable insights and predict the future as a way to develop new revenue streams and a competitive advantage.”
Faced with economic uncertainties and disruptive competitors, it is critical for businesses need to have a data-driven approach to survive, Hermida said sans citing who these competitors are. “With the right tools, insights can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time,” Hermida added. When that happens, organizations develop what we describe as a ‘data culture.’”
In addition, business leaders in the Philippines are also keen to take the use of data to the next level. They see the top 5 benefits of driving a data culture within their organizations as enabling the following:
- Boost operational efficiency
- Better business continuity
- Improved processes
- Greater management visibility of performance
- Improve customer satisfaction and retention
The study explained the confluence of cloud, mobility and data is transforming the companies’ strategies of dealing with their customers. This confluence forces businesses to implement a digital road map in response to the new trends, the study read. The International Data Corp. (IDC) predicts that by end-2017, 60 percent of the top 1,000 Asia Pacific enterprises will have digital transformation at the center of their corporate strategy.
The study, titled “Asia Data Culture,” was conducted by Microsoft in March with 940 CEOs and business leaders from medium to large companies in 13 markets, including the Philippines. The study was conducted using a series of online and face-to-face interviews, Microsoft said. Respondents were surveyed on their organizations’ digital and data strategy, and readiness for the digital economy.