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New study reveals IT anatomy of high performance

Accenture’s fourth High Performance in IT study reveals that the highest performing organisations have moved beyond cost as a primary information technology (IT) driver.

While many information technology executives are primarily focused on cost reduction, productivity gain and internal process improvement, the survey shows that the high performers are focused on improving the customer experience as a means to drive business growth. High performing organisations also see IT as a strategic asset that can help them renew vital aspects of their operations.

“High performers have adopted a digital mindset that distinguishes them from other organisations,”” acrroding to the report released last week. “”They see digital as a strategic imperative and are investing in the digital tools, capabilities and skills to more easily pinpoint useful data, evaluate it, excerpt it, analyse it, derive insights from it, share it, manage it, report on it, and, most importantly, act on it. Their business objectives are achieved through investment strategies that capitalise on the convergence of technologies in social media, mobile computing, analytics and cloud to transform customer interactions.

These are the top 10 findings in uncovering the anatomy of a high performer on a digital journey:

1) It really is all about the customer

High performers’ top three business objectives relate to improving the customer’s experience whereas other organisations focus on cutting costs and increasing productivity

2) Context is the ‚’once and future king’

Half of high performers consistently consider the wider economic, social and geopolitical context for their IT strategy versus 10% of other organisations

3) IT strategy and business strategy are one and the same

High performers allocate 55% of their IT budget to deliver strategic business capabilities compared to 37% of other organisations

4) Mastering a hybrid IT environment

One third of high performers have already replaced their legacy architecture with private and public cloud components, transitioning to a hybrid IT environment‚Äîthat’s eight times more than other organisations

5) Diving deeper into digital

Over half of high performers have been experimenting and learning from early deployment of digital-related technologies: social, mobile, analytics, cloud as well as virtualisation, security, and data management

6) Empowered employees are the force for digital business

High performers let their employees use their own mobile phones and tablets, access their own mobile apps, and self-manage almost 70% of their interactions at work, compared to just over one third for other organisations

7) Mastering data to drive outcomes creates competitive advantage

Almost half of high performers are gaining the ability to embed analytics capabilities and feed customer insights into their processes, versus 2% of other organisations

8) Adopting agile to become agile

High performers are leveraging agile methodologies or fast/iterative approaches (doing so six times more often than others), enabling them to adapt faster to new technologies and embed them faster in their businesses

9) Investing early in technology skills provides an edge

Nearly one fifth of high performers source their IT partners strategically, aligning them with their business requirements and priorities, versus 7% of other organisations

10) The marriage of IT security and business risk

High performers protect their IP. More than a quarter of high performers are expanding the scope of their security and risk management functions— five times more than other organisations

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