Inability to Fully Utilize Digital Tools Cost Enterprises Nearly $100 Million Last Year, WalkMe Research Finds

67% of enterprises are under ‘incredible pressure’ to accelerate digital transformation, but 60% say change management programs are ‘no longer fit for purpose’

WalkMe Ltd, a leading provider of digital adoption solutions, released “The State of Digital Adoption 2022-2023” report, showing enterprises’ struggle to give employees the ability to use digital tools as they are intended and to their fullest extent.¹ It found a lack of uptake of digital technology means enterprises over-spend by more than $32 million in order to reach their strategic goals. In addition, 67% of organizations are under “incredible pressure” to accelerate digital transformation. Yet, they cannot guarantee that employees will fully use the technology at their disposal and so maximize its value.

Sixty percent of enterprises say that change management programs are “no longer fit for purpose,” while 70% could not identify exactly who is responsible for managing the adoption of new technologies in their organization. Enterprises plan to spend more than $30 million addressing these challenges in the next three years. The right approach could greatly reduce almost $100 million in costs caused by organizations’ inability to fully realize the value of their technology investments.

“Technology is the lifeblood of organizations, with most saying it’s more important than a head office. Yet by failing to make full use of the resources at their disposal, enterprises are constantly subjecting themselves to needless losses,” said Ofir Bloch, Vice President of Strategic Positioning, WalkMe. “Whether it’s projects failing to meet expectations, an inability to maximize the value of application investments, falling behind on strategic goals, compensating for employees’ lack of digital dexterity, or employee churn caused by frustrations with technology, the costs all add up. Every enterprise has the potential to take full control of their digital investments, but they need the right approach in order to do so.”

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Additional findings from the report include:

Counting the cost of a lack of uptake

A lack of uptake costs the average enterprise with 10,000+ employees more than $96 million, including:

• $32.48 million from additional spending needed to meet strategic goals missed due to a lack of adoption of technology
• $26.19 million from digital transformation projects that did not meet their goals because end users did not use the technology as expected
• $16 million from failing to realize the full value of their application investments
• $21 million from spending on training, support and other ways of compensating for employees’ lack of digital dexterity
• $1.14 million from replacing employees leaving due to frustrations with technology

Technology is at the heart of the employee experience

Enterprises recognize that technology is key to satisfied employees:

• 64% say that technology and end user experience are more important than office facilities when it comes to attracting and retaining talent
• 61% say that poor employee experiences with IT are likely to add to the “Great Resignation”
• At the same time, training and support have to be tailored to the individual: 63% say a one-size-fits-all approach to technology support and training “isn’t applicable”

Maximizing uptake is a priority, but businesses lack focus

Maximizing adoption of digital technologies is a clear priority for businesses:

• 40% say application utilization is a top priority, with only security higher
• In 71% of enterprises, the C-suite takes a strong interest in the adoption of new technologies
• In 68%, there is an individual or team of individuals with responsibility for ensuring adoption of digital technologies happens, while the same percentage say they use adoption as a measurement of transformation success
• Yet as seen, most enterprises do not know exactly who these individuals are. And maximizing uptake does not always appear in enterprises’ strategic goals or KPIs:
• 60% of organizations do not yet have a clear strategy to increase adoption of digital technologies
• 59% lack specific KPIs designed to measure digital adoption

“With enterprises planning to invest more than $30 million to increase the use of digital technologies over the next three years, the right approach will have a major impact,” continued Bloch. “We can see that there’s the potential to save tens of millions in costs and to free up employees’ time so that they are happier and more productive. If enterprises can strategize effectively, coordinate with external partners, and most importantly, understand what and where they need to coordinate their efforts in order to increase adoption, they will be able to maximize the value of the $4.4 billion invested in IT every year.”

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