Are ANZ companies doing enough?

The recent IFS Digital Transformation Survey of decision-makers in 20+ countries took me by surprise — only 50% of Australia/NZ respondents had a clear strategy for digital transformation.

It wasn’t that 50% seemed low. I was surprised that it was less than any other region surveyed, including ASEAN, Benelux, Brazil, China, Finland, Poland, Scandinavia and the US. The average global figure was 60% and in Scandinavia 66%.

I thought that in the industries surveyed — mostly industrial manufacturing, construction, retail, oil and gas, automotive, energy and utilities — Australia/NZ was relatively technologically advanced. Even though our tech industry is not big, Australia has a reputation as one of the world’s most advanced users of technology.

The survey made me rethink this assumption. While IFS is seeing tremendous innovation in many local industries, the question is: Is it enough to remain globally competitive in this era of disruptive change?

My concerns increased when I saw how respondents rated the importance of different disruptive technologies in driving digital transformation. There was only one that Australia/NZ respondents rated higher than the global average.

Locals rated cloud computing 60 out of 100, compared with a global average of 59, but in every other category the figures were down. We rated the Internet of Things 53, vs 59 globally; machine learning 44, vs 53; and wearable technology 38, vs 48. It seems that a lower proportion of Australian/NZ companies have seriously evaluated these disruptive technologies in relation to their digital transformation strategies.

What should we do about it? Firstly, we can’t take the performance of any of our industries for granted, no matter how sophisticated we may think it is. And secondly, we need to work together at the national, industry and enterprise level to develop innovation strategies that enable digital transformation.

The recent Australian election campaign was a missed opportunity to debate these issues, in my opinion, and the innovation debate has been far too narrowly focused. I support efforts to kick-start new innovation-based industries and growth in start-ups. But strategies with an immediate impact in helping existing Australian enterprises to innovate and compete globally are even more urgently required.

Rob Stummer is Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand for global enterprise applications company IFS. He holds several degrees, including a Masters from Melbourne University.