SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Mar 2, 2016) - New Avanade research shows that the majority of business leaders are already investing in, and benefiting from, the increased use of smart technologies in the workplace. Increased revenue is a major driver of their adoption, with business and IT leaders expecting up to a 33 percent rise in revenue from smart technologies over the next five years. [Click to Tweet] Additionally, businesses anticipate retraining current employees, creating new roles and reorganizing their structure as up to 20 percent of existing roles are repurposed. [Click to Tweet]
Smart technologies refer to technologies -- such as connected devices, wearables and intelligent automation -- that allow computers or machines to do work or make decisions traditionally done by humans.
Highlights include:
- 63 percent of companies are already experiencing key benefits from their smart technology investments, including increased revenue, improved customer experience and higher employee satisfaction.
- 92 percent believe that it will be easier for organizations to attract and retain top talent as they increase their reliance on smart technologies. [Click to Tweet]
- 73 percent said that they will require more skills in the areas of problem solving (61 percent), the ability to gather and analyze data (59 percent), critical thinking (51 percent) and collaboration (51 percent) as they blend smart technologies with humans.
- 60 percent believe smart technologies will play a key role in supporting the customer experience; identifying sales leads (60 percent) and at-risk customers (49 percent).
- 78 percent believe that their organization has not given enough thought to the workplace ethical dilemmas created by the increased use of smart technologies. [Click to Tweet]
Not quite ready: Focus on digital ethics to emerge as digital workplace evolves
While the benefits of smart technology adoption are clear and compelling, C-level executives in particular are grappling with ethical issues stemming from the use of smart technologies. Seventy-eight percent of business and IT leaders believe that their organization has not given enough thought to the workplace ethical dilemmas created by the increased use of smart technologies. Intentions are clear, however, with a majority targeting up to 10 percent of their IT budget at this area in the next five years.
"While the adoption of smart technologies may seem threatening to some, the reality is that successful organizations are already realizing business results and planning their next round of investments in this area," said Ashish Kumar, Avanade's Chief Growth Officer and Digital Lead. "We believe that smart technologies can actually increase the humanity of a digital workplace and help organizations attract and retain the critical talent they need for the future."
Find out more about Avanade's perspective on today's digital workplace as well as the full survey results at www.avanade.com/smarttech.
About the Global Survey
Avanade's survey was conducted from December 2015 to January 2016 by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com), an independent research firm. It surveyed 500 C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision-makers in the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
About Avanade
Avanade leads in providing innovative digital services, business solutions and design-led experiences for its clients, delivered through the power of people and the Microsoft ecosystem. Our professionals combine technology, business and industry expertise to build and deploy solutions to realize results for clients and their customers. Avanade has 27,000 digitally connected people across 23 countries, bringing clients the best thinking through a collaborative culture that honors diversity and reflects the communities in which we operate. Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Learn more at www.avanade.com.
Avanade and the Avanade logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Avanade Inc. Other product, service, or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
