Companies continue to feel the impact of COVID-19 in everything from staffing issues, and supply chain disruption, to collaboration and cybersecurity. Some are stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide, yet others – according to a new SAP Canada study conducted in partnership with IDC Canada – are well on their way to becoming intelligent enterprises and are poised to emerge from the pandemic with strength and resilience.
“Over the past six years, the SAP/ IDC survey has focused on observing the progress being made by Canadian organizations in becoming intelligent enterprises,” said Tony Olvet, VP of Research for IDC Group. “This year, we surveyed 150 Canadian organizations, specifically targeting strategy decision makers across IT and line of business in organizations with $50 million or more in revenue and a minimum of 500 employees.”
Olvet joined Panos Kelamis, VP Value Advisory for SAP Canada, and Shawn Slack, CIO for the City of Mississauga, in a December 2021 briefing titled How Canadian Organizations Are Striving for Digital Leadership. With ITWC CIO Jim Love as moderator, the one-hour session shared the findings of this year’s study and looked at strategies for achieving intelligent enterprise status.
Register to participate in: “How Canadian Organizations Are Striving for Digital Leadership”
What Makes an Intelligent Enterprise?
According to SAP, intelligent enterprises use modern strategies and processes that are powered by an intelligence suite of technology solutions. This enables them to transform data into value, drive automation and innovation, unlock new areas of growth, and deliver exceptional experiences. These outcomes are achieved by adopting a well-integrated digital transformation strategy, something that three times more businesses claimed to have done in 2021, when compared to the 2020 survey.
“Of course, one of the major drivers, if not the sole driver for engaging in digital transformation, is the business impact of these initiatives,” said Olvet. “The big headline here is that 84% of survey respondents highlighted that the return from investments in technology to support the digital strategy has either met or exceeded their expectations.”
The Importance of Looking Ahead
Kelamis described intelligent enterprises as having a vision of the future. “That’s one of the most important aspects of understanding where you want to go as an organization,” he said, “and not only in the near term, but also in the long term. The intelligent part of the equation is using new technologies to promote where an organization is going and to empowers its people.
On the subject of empowering workers, Slack spoke to the importance of engaging people in whatever way they are working. The ideal state, in his opinion, is to have a mobility strategy where people have a choice about where they work and workspaces and customer spaces are designed for collaboration.
Panelists concluded the session by discussing the importance of having a long-term vision, but being agile enough to pivot when needed.
“It’s tough to predict 10 years out, especially looking back two years ago,” said Olvet. “There has to be an ability to change and to manage that change.”
Is your company on its way to being an intelligent enterprise? Would you like to learn more about the progress being made by other Canadian organizations?
View the briefing How Canadian Organizations Are Striving for Digital Leadership for more information.
