Report Reveals Pandemic was a Forcing Function for Data-Driven Executive Decisions

The BizOps Coalition, which advocates for fundamental change in the way business and IT collaborate in modern software development, announced the findings of its inaugural BizOps industry research survey on the state of digital business. The report found 87 percent of respondents believe companies must become more agile to deal with rapidly changing market conditions, while 94 percent advise companies to adopt BizOps for increased competitiveness.

The survey found pandemic-related issues remain at the top of the list of challenges confronting businesses in 2021. In fact, 60 percent of enterprise leaders believe 2021 will be just as challenging as last year. Remote workers (73 percent), global uncertainty and economic impact of the pandemic (65 percent), and the COVID vaccine (60 percent) were all reported as top concerns by enterprise organizations surveyed.

“After more than a year, businesses are finally looking ahead to the next phase in their transformation efforts,” said Laureen Knudsen, Chief Transformation Officer at Broadcom and BizOps Coalition founding member. “The survey results underscore the ongoing challenges businesses are facing, but they also highlight the opportunity to nurture greater alignment to drive desired business outcomes.”

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Pandemic Fuels Focus on Agility

With the events of 2020 behind them, 87 percent of survey respondents agree companies need to be more agile to deal with the rapidly changing market conditions. And 83 percent believe agile is critical to their business in 2021.

The survey also points to the need for an integrated culture where business and IT are aligned on business outcomes, but there’s a startling dichotomy between respondents’ beliefs and the day-to-day reality, as revealed by the data.

• 95 percent of survey respondents agree a successful digital transformation is about business outcomes, not just the technology.
• Yet, 62 percent admit technology is often adopted purely for technology’s sake, and 61 percent report that technology selections are not always linked to business objectives.

“Digital transformation success cannot rely on technology alone,” said Pierre Viljoen, CTO & Head of Enterprise Technology & Governance, HCL Enterprise Studio and a founding member of the BizOps Coalition. “To support transformation objectives, the business and IT culture must embrace a holistic transformation including people, process, and technology to be a true force multiplier. When everyone is committed to the same objectives, with apt knowledge of the business operations and processes, technology decisions can be made within the appropriate context of business outcomes and can better support the business in meeting them.”