ThoughtWorks Report Reveals Key Success Factors in Digital Transformations

ThoughtWorks, a global technology company, commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate how companies are designing, building and maintaining new customer-facing technology. The findings of the in-depth survey of 400+ digital transformation and modernization decision makers at organizations who have had successful transformation initiatives across China, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States are included in the study entitled, ”The Secrets of Successful Digital Transformation.”

The survey results show successful organizations approach modernization in a multi-faceted way, with investments in modern digital technologies making up merely one aspect of success. Key findings of the survey include:

• The right talent is hard to come by regardless of how successful firms are with their enterprise modernization efforts. Successful firms recruit, invest and retain knowledgeable staff (71%) and work with trusted partners (76%) to compensate for whatever skill and culture gaps that may exist within their organization.
• The majority of decision-makers (81%) agree that utilizing a trusted partner’s skills and expertise is as or more important for success than the technology solution they provided.
• Modernization efforts are not one-and-done initiatives. Decision-makers realize continuous improvement (81%) and dedicated budget (71%) are critical factors of success.

The primary transformational journey enterprises are undertaking today is the move to a more digital and innovative organization that can both react and adapt to business needs quickly. As the challenges of the pandemic have heightened the demand to achieve the right mix of technology, talent and processes to accelerate this journey, the study offers actionable insights to driving transformations that deliver strong business value.

“As the survey results found, the business benefits of transformation efforts are many-fold. Successful organizations gain increased agility and productivity while shortening time to market and significantly increasing customer satisfaction,” said Mike Mason, global head of technology, ThoughtWorks. “Interestingly, having the right people, skills mix and collaboration techniques are actually more important than specific technology choices such as which cloud provider to use in a modernization effort.”