Digital move top priority for large companies

New Delhi: While 68 per cent of companies have seen revenue declines amid the pandemic, nine out of 10 large enterprises are either maintaining or increasing their digital transformation budgets amid the Covid-19 pandemic globally, a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) survey said on Tuesday.

Among shifts in technology spends due to the pandemic, companies reported maximum increases on collaborative technologies (65 per cent), cybersecurity (56 per cent), cloud-native technologies (51 per cent) and advanced analytics (39 per cent).

"Companies that had embraced digital transformation more whole-heartedly performed better during the pandemic and expect a faster rebound, whereas others are now focused on making necessary investments and racing to catch up," said Rajashree R, Chief Marketing Officer, TCS.

The global survey engaged almost 300 senior business leaders from large enterprises (97 per cent with revenue above $1 billion and 44 per cent above $10 billion) spanning 11 industries across North America, Europe and Asia.

The analysis compared organisations that had more advanced digital capabilities in place prior to Covid, referred to as 'leaders,' with those that had fewer, if any, in place, known as 'followers.'

The survey showed that fewer leaders (64 per cent) have seen their revenue decline, compared to followers (73 per cent).

Prior to the pandemic, the average organisation surveyed had only 9 per cent of its workforce working mostly from home.

"That percentage has increased seven-fold and is expected to remain elevated through 2025, when the average company projects 40 per cent of its employees will work largely from home".

Higher level of automation in core business processes is another priority area -- already deployed at 23 per cent of companies and under development at 44 per cent of companies, the findings showed.

The survey identified six digital capabilities as critical factors in companies withstanding the pandemic: end-to-end digital customer experience (CX), AI-based analytics to continually improve the consumer experience, core enterprise systems in the cloud, highly automated core business processes, digital sensors tracking products and key partnerships in digital ecosystems.