A new study led by Accenture released that most of the CEOs are boosting up their investments in digital transformation. Most of the C-Level executives around the world have already launched initiatives to adjust to the post-COVID-19 reality. Also, the executives said they plan to completely rethink their processes. The main aim: operating models to be more resilient.
Now those restrictions are looser in many parts of the world. Social distancing measures have become part of daily operations. Meanwhile, companies are moving from a period of compliance to one of the responsible individuals. As governments move from emergency support to economic recovery strategy, new risks and opportunities emerge.
Digital transformation: key for resilence
The new study of Accenture determined that 64% of C-Level executives worldwide have already launched initiatives to adjust to the post-COVID-19 reality, while 92% are accelerating their investments in digital transformation.
The Executive Director of Strategy & Consulting at Accenture Chile Rosario Castro explained this. She said that “many organizations are taking advantage of the opportunity for change”.
Due to the pandemic, organizations have driven to build skills that help them emerge stronger, to be more digital, based on data and Cloud. In this way, they have more agile operations and variable cost structures. Also, they can deliver better experiences for workers and customers. For that reason, Castro remarked that the study revealed that 74% of the C-Level executives interviewed said that they plan to completely rethink their processes and operating models to be more resilient.
The journey to recovery
As circumstances have evolved, companies now face a host of problems on their journey to recovery. The Accenture’s specialists identified three key stages:
- The journey to recovery and reinvention: Countries are beginning to reopen. Movement in workplaces, stores, and recreation spaces is increasing, as is consumer spending. In the United States, consumer credit and debit spending were only 6% lower in mid-July compared to January. However, it had bottomed at -33% on March 30. However, the increase is not the same in all sectors. While we are seeing growth in sectors like retail, activity in labor-intensive sectors like tourism and hospitality will remain subdued, with spending on entertainment and recreation, for example, still down 48% from January.
- Critical issues: While critical uncertainties related to disease progression have moved in a positive direction, there are still big issues. The main worries are related to societal response. While we may have the ability to suppress the virus, the political and people’s will to contain the pandemic appears to be waning. Thus, for example, 68% of countries currently do not have orders to stay at home (half of them “recommend” not to leave home), which represents a 33% increase compared to last May.
- Course correction: The ability to predict change and respond quickly is critical to success. Build capacity within functional areas to create an information-driven and agile business.
Rosario Castro concluded that as companies correct the course, their competitive success will be determined by their ability to predict and prepare, detect, and respond. Those who accelerate their digital transformation, embracing cloud, artificial intelligence, analytics, a flexible IT infrastructure, and intelligent operations, will be better positioned to lead with the right information and agility in the new “Never Normal” scenario faced by businesses and society, as a consequence of COVID-19 ”.