Dell Technologies released results from a global study that shows organizations are shifting their digital transformation programs into high gear and are on the path to accomplish in a few months what would normally have taken them years. The findings, updated biennially in the Dell Technologies' Digital Transformation Index (DT Index), indicate organizations are accelerating transformational technology programs during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

In one of the first global studies to measure business behavior as a result of the pandemic, Dell's 2020 Index found that eight in 10 organizations have fast-tracked some digital transformation programs this year and 79 percent are re-inventing their business model. The DT Index is a global benchmark indicating organizations' status of digital transformation and their performance across the globe. The survey included 4,300 business leaders (C-suite to Director) from mid-size to enterprise companies across 18 countries.

A new digital transformation curve

Since the first DT Index in 2016 and the next in 2018, this year's results track the first rise in the number of Digital Leaders (the most digitally mature organization) to six percent. Digital Adopters (the second most digitally mature group) has grown from 23 percent in 2018 to 39 percent in 2020 – a 16-percentage point increase.

The DT Index also records a modest drop since 2018 in the number of Digital Laggards (the least digitally mature group) by 6-percentage points and a steep fall in the second to last group, Digital Followers, by 17-percentage points. These organizations are moving up, into the Digital Adopter and Digital Evaluator groups, which have expanded in tandem.

"We've been given a glimpse of the future, and the organizations that are accelerating their digital transformation now will be poised for success in the Data Era that is unfolding before our eyes", says Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO, Dell Technologies.   

Barriers to transformation

The pandemic may have catalyzed digital transformation across the globe, but continuous transformation is challenging: 94 percent of are facing entrenched barriers to transformation. According to the 2020 DT Index, the following are the top-3 barriers to digital transformation success"

1. Data privacy and cybersecurity concerns (up from 5th place in 2016)
2. Lack of budget and resources (#1 in 2016, #2 in 2018)
3. Unable to extract insights from data and/or information overload (a jump of eight places since 2016)

Responding in an uncertain world 

Prior to the pandemic, business investments were strongly focused on foundational technologies, rather than emerging technologies. The vast majority, 89 percent recognize that as a result of disruption this year, they need a more agile/scalable IT infrastructure to allow of contingencies. The DT Index shows the top technology investments for the next one to three years:

1. Cybersecurity
2. Data management tools
3. 5G infrastructure 
4. Privacy software
5. Multi-Cloud environment

And recognizing the importance of emerging technologies, 82 percent of respondents envision increased usage of Augmented Reality to learn how to do or fix things in an instant; 85 percent foresee organizations using Artificial Intelligence and data models to predict potential disruptions, and 78 percent predict distributed ledgers - such as Blockchain - will make the gig economy fairer (by cutting out the intermediary). Despite these findings, only 16 percent are planning to invest in Virtual/Augmented Reality, just 32 percent intend to invest in Artificial Intelligence and a mere 15 percent plan to invest distributed ledgers in the next one to three years.

Research methodology

During July and August of 2020, Dell Technologies partnered with independent research company Vanson Bourne who surveyed 4,300 business leaders from mid-size to enterprise organizations across 18 countries, create a global benchmark indicating businesses' status of transformation. Vanson Bourne classified businesses' digital business efforts by examining their IT strategy, workforce transformation initiatives and perceived performance against a core set of digital business attributes. This is the third installment of the DT Index (the inaugural study in 2016 was followed by the second DT Index in 2018.