Why More CEOs Want to Direct Tech Investments
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Why More CEOs Want to Direct Tech Investments
Many CEOs view tech disruption as a business opportunity, rather than a burden. Find out how they plan to steer IT spending to maximize competitive advantage. -
Mixed Reading
60% of the CEOs surveyed view tech disruption as more of an opportunity than a threat, but 57% said their company does not have the capabilities and innovative processes to respond to rapid disruption. -
Well-Rounded
43% of the CEOs said they need to understand the technology side of the business in order to be a good CEO. -
Top Areas of IT Investment for Next Three Years
Data analytics: 61%, Cognitive tech: 58%, Internet of things (IoT): 55% -
Top Strategic Priorities for Next Three Years
Gaining speed to market: 25%, Digitizing business: 22%, Becoming more data-driven: 21%, Building public trust: 21%, Implementing disruptive tech: 20% -
Biggest Barriers to Implementing New Tech
Complexity of integration: 26%, Lack of needed skills: 21%, Lack of long-term strategy: 16% -
Cautionary Sentiment: Data Integrity
49% of the CEOs surveyed are concerned about the integrity of the data on which they base their decisions. -
Cautionary Sentiment: Customer Insights
32% said the depth of their company's customer insights is limited by a lack of quality customer data. -
Intellectual Capital
61% of the CEOs surveyed are concerned about integrating cognitive processes and artificial intelligence (AI). -
Growth Area
Three-quarters view investments in cyber-security as an opportunity to innovate and find new revenue streams. -
Positive Feeling
46% of the CEOs surveyed are "highly confident" about their growth prospects over the next three years. -
Negative Impact
69% said a culture of "short-termism" has a negative impact on long-term strategic objectives.
The majority of CEOs are embracing technology disruption as a potential opportunity, even though most of them admit that their organization may not be prepared for rapid disruption, according to a recent survey from KPMG LLP. The resulting report, "Disrupt and Grow: U.S. CEO Outlook 2017," indicates that many corporate leaders now realize they must understand the technology side of the business to effectively do their jobs. They also want to steer much of their IT spend into ongoing innovations in data analytics, cognitive tech and the internet of things (IoT). With this approach, they hope to improve speed to market, while digitizing their business functions and becoming more disruptive. CEOs "are just beginning to realize how artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cognitive capabilities could bring a surge in productivity, as well as help to create new products and new demand that would not be possible without these capabilities," according to the report. "Many CEOs are looking at an internal reboot. There is a lot of building behind the scenes and a steep learning curve—not only for the C-suite, but across the enterprise. To become a digitally integrated, transparent and cognitive enterprise means rethinking many processes. It means automating many tasks—not only in the front-end consumer interface or at the back end with finance and supply chain, but throughout the organization. That will bring radical changes to the way people work in many functions." An estimated 400 U.S. CEOs took part in the research.