This year, digital transformation is evolving into an enterprise-wide movement as disruptive technologies modernise how companies operate. This is according to Altimeter's annual “State of Digital Transformation” report, released this week.
Top 10 priority investments
Out of the 554 enterprise professionals surveyed, the majority prioritised investments in potentially disruptive technologies. Overall, 37% said that cloud was of the greatest importance when it came to investment.
Cybersecurity ranked second, with 35% of respondents indicating that this was a top priority. Although, artificial intelligence (AI) fell closely behind at 34% and Big Data was fourth at 28%.
According to a 2019 survey, company investments in AI and Big Data stem from a fear of digital competitors. Almost 92% of respondents said that they believe business transformation and greater agility will allow them to become more competitive.
Internet of Things (IoT) was the fifth top investment priority for enterprises at 26%. Nevertheless, 25% of respondents said that real-time analytics and reporting was the most important.
Mobile solutions came in seventh at 23%, which perhaps reflects the shift towards more agile communication methods in the workplace. 21% of respondents also cited eCommerce platforms as their top investment in 2019.
Social media was ninth at 19%, while cross-functional collaboration platforms took the tenth spot with 17%. Overall, the extensive list actually included 24 disruptive technologies.
"The list goes on and on"
Further down the rankings, machine learning came in at 17% and blockchain ranked at 14%. In addition to these, 14% of respondents cited DevOps as their top investment for the year.
The sheer number of technologies "points to the considerable resources and agility that companies need to innovative and adapt," the report reads. Furthermore, the comprehensive nature of the list is also "indicative of how wide the potential disruption of these technologies can be."
Each of these technologies requires a "cross-collaborative team with IT representation," according to the research. As a result, this allows companies to "evaluate the opportunities" presented by these technologies and how to incorporate them into operations.
Wondering what 2019 will hold? Take a look at predictions for enterprise AI, cybersecurity, IT transformation, and cloud
