While businesses are pivoting a digital-first approach to products, services, and experiences, many are also simplifying and automating processes — key elements of a process known as optimization that can be improved. the speed and agility of the organization.
To understand how companies and public entities optimize operations, ServiceNow and ThoughtLab surveyed nearly 1,000 C-level executives worldwide representing five sectors: manufacturing, telecom, healthcare, financial services, and public sector.
The full report is available to download. Here is a preview.
Industries
Measured by the number of companies in each industry that use advanced technologies to optimize, manufacturing is the furthest in this area and the public sector the least advanced. Most companies fall into the intermediate category, indicating that they are actively investing in optimization but they are not yet in the lead.
Of all the industries surveyed, manufacturing sees the highest average value from optimization measures (47% compared to the industry average of 41%). The biggest value comes from low-code platforms, which allow manufacturers to fast-track automation apps.
Another measure of maturity grades industries by their use of specific tools to optimize. Ordered in this way, financial services takes the lead, with telecom next, then manufacturing and healthcare, followed by the public sector.
“Financial services are now taking more steps than other industries, even in manufacturing, to optimize processes. Because of dealing with the health crisis, less is being done. healthcare today, but in 1-2 years, it plans to do more than all other industries. to optimize processes, “according to the report.
Either way you break down the data, the public sector is the least optimized of the six sectors. Over the next few years, survey respondents from each industry indicated that they plan to focus on optimizing their sales, marketing, and human resources departments.
Companies
Larger optimization companies do better than smaller ones: 27% of companies with $ 5 billion or more in revenue are considered leaders, according to the report, compared to 16% of organizations with $ 1 billion to $ 4.99 billion in revenue, and only 6%. of those with less than $ 1 billion in revenue.
Faced with major disruptions caused by the pandemic and the resulting need to accelerate digital change, more than one-third of companies have taken steps to optimize risk management and cybersecurity.
Executives
58%
companies are modernizing IT platforms and systems to boost optimization
Digital innovation remains very important to top executives. Executives say their biggest optimization priority is to modernize IT platforms and systems. Private and public entities improve coordination across departments and functions and integrate digitized workflows into enterprise platforms. These priorities indicate the desire of executives to bridge the loopholes, promote data sharing, and foster collaboration.
In the coming years, executives will say they will prioritize integrating business partners and suppliers into these new processes and establishing optimization teams across the enterprise.
Optimization investments: Leaders vs. non-leaders:
- 65% leaders are modernizing IT platforms and systems to optimize business processes, compared to 56% of non -leaders.
- 60% of leaders improves coordination with departments and roles compared to fair 44% of non -leaders.
- 57% of leaders are working hard on training in optimization and upskilling versus 37% of non -leaders.
- 41% leaders provide a simplified user experience of the technology to help drive optimization, while only 18% done by non -leaders.
“Leaders have learned that providing top-notch technologies to staff is not enough. These tools must also be developed in ways that are accessible and meaningful to workers,” according to the report.
CEO
CEOs recognize that organizations are moving beyond digital transformation, which is static, and toward process optimization, using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technologies to grow rapidly.
COO
Reportedly COOs are responsible for developing the vision and optimization culture in their companies. It also leads most efforts to coordinate optimization across departments and simplify and continuously improve processes. They consistently see the benefits of low-code platforms, which help democratize advanced technologies for use by non-technical staff.
Notably, 100% of COOs who use low-code platforms prove their ability to drive high or very high value — more than any C-suite executive, including the CIO.
CIO
Like COOs, CIOs highly see the value of low-code platforms, although only about half say they manage them, which makes sense because the technology is intended to offer non-programmers more autonomy from IT departments. At the same time, 92% of CIOs said they use low code compared to 62% of all CxOs.
CHRO
77%
CIOs view low -code tools as a high or very high source of value.
Not surprisingly, CHROs are responsible for defining roles and recruiting optimization specialists. Many also take the lead in training or retraining employees to achieve company optimization goals. At the same time, CHROs saw, on average, only a third of the value in digitizing workflows like other C levels and no one saw high value in using low code.
CCO
Although CCOs do not take the lead in efforts to optimize companies, they participate in almost all efforts to optimize departments and develop a corporate culture that welcomes such efforts (where they see high value). Compared to other C-levels, they also see high value in systems that help continuously improve processes. Like CHROs, they don’t see value in low-code or digitized workflows, which they may not be familiar with.
Low code increase
Low-code tools simplify development by breaking down common programming tasks into simple building blocks, allowing people with no prior knowledge of software or development to build business applications .
3X
Rate that low code adoption will increase over the next two years
Companies currently using low code are seeing benefits, survey respondents said. Executives say low code is an effective way to enable collaboration and digitization of processes. Low-code platforms are a priority for financial and telecom services, while healthcare and the public sector are the furthest.
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