Published on the 09/11/2015 | Written by Newsdesk

In its seventh year, PwC’s annual Digital IQ Survey assesses how well companies understand the value of technology and weave it into their organisational fabric.

Through its poll of 2,000 executives across 51 countries (including 50 business and IT leaders from New Zealand), PwC identified 10 critical behaviours that translate directly to strong revenue growth and profit margin.

They are:
1. The executives responsible for digital are involved in setting high-level business strategy.
2. Business-aligned digital strategy is agreed upon and shared at the C-level.
3. Actively engagement with external sources to gather new ideas for applying emerging technologies.
4. Digital enterprise investments are made primarily for competitive advantage.
5. Effectively use of all data capture to drive business value.
6. A single, multi-year digital enterprise roadmap that includes business capabilities and processes as well as digital and IT components.
7. The CEO as a champion for digital.
8. Business and digital strategy are well communicated enterprise-wide.
9. Proactively evaluation and planning for security and privacy risks in digital enterprise projects.
10. Consistent measurement of outcomes from digital technology investments.
PwC said the survey findings and analysis show that companies responding to the Digital IQ survey with the highest scores across these behaviours are 50 per cent more likely to achieve rapid revenue growth and twice as likely to achieve rapid profit growth when compared to the remaining Digital IQ respondents.

As organisations in New Zealand and across the globe continue to invest in digital technology, leadership teams are under pressure to translate investment into real returns, PwC said.

Digital strategy and data leader Greg Doone noted “While virtually all companies say they are investing more in digital technology, the top-performing organisations understand how to best apply the technology so that it becomes a mind-set. Increasingly, the leaders are recognising that digital is far more than technology. It is driving fundamental change in consumer and staff behaviour and this, in turn, has cultural and work practice implications beyond the technology itself.”

He added that while New Zealand organisations have had a late start compared to global leaders, they are catching up quickly. “Where it was noticeably absent three years ago, digital strategy has now become an integral part of everyday boardroom discussions. This leadership engagement in digital is another strong factor contributing to growth. It is now very common for a board or an executive team member to mention a recent trip to Silicon Valley or another technology hotspot to expand their digital outlook.”

He said that overall, there is a renewed focus by New Zealand businesses on digital strategy and those investments are starting to pay dividends. “There is a desire and a drive to embrace digital thinking, as well as a recognition that New Zealand companies need to invest more in this thinking to keep up with organisations around the world – and customer expectations here at home,” he concluded.