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40% of Irish businesses struggle to deliver on digital

Written by Robert McHugh, on 20th Oct 2017. Posted in Technology

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New research published today by Fujitsu Ireland has shown that Irish business have a broad openness to the adoption of new technology but skills shortages and the existence of silos within organisations are acting as barriers to success.

Of the Irish business leaders surveyed for Fujitsu’s new report, The Digital Transformation PACT, four in ten (40%) have cancelled a project in the last two years at an average cost of €137,625 while one in five (20%) businesses have experienced a failed project costing an average of €831,500. This amounts to a lower failure rate than the global average but incurs a significantly higher individual cost per failed project than the global average of €555,000. 

Seventy percent of Irish businesses surveyed say that their customers expect them to be more digital, while 80% believe that they are behind their competitors in this regard.

When considering their approach to the people involved in digital transformation, the vast majority of Irish business leaders in this survey (95%) are taking steps to increase their access to digital expertise, with 60% admitting there is a clear lack of digital skills within their organization. Ninety five percent of Irish organisations surveyed are working to increase the depth of digital skills available within their organisations. Positively for Irish organisations, the primary measure for achieving this, is upskilling existing staff. 

Looking to the future, skills will continue to be a key business issue - 90% say upskilling staff will be vital to their organisation’s success in the next three years, while 85% believe artificial intelligence will transform the skills needed by 2020 and with that in mind, 85% also have a skills strategy lasting beyond the next twelve months.

Speaking this week, CEO Fujitsu Ireland, Tony O’Malley said, "Technology can be truly transformative, but making the most of digital requires more than the latest tools. While Irish businesses recognise the need to adopt new technologies, there are still significant issues including costs and skills deficits, to be overcome by organisations as they seek to adapt to this changing environment. Many Irish organisations are now incorporating digital strategies into their overarching business strategies; however to realise their digital vision, it’s crucial that businesses have the right breadth of skills, processes, partnerships and technology in place."

He added, "As the business landscape continues to evolve, business leaders are aware that failure to adapt will result in being left behind as adaptive competitors reap the rewards of their agility."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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