New IDC MaturityScape Benchmark on Digital Transformation Shows Canadian Companies Have a Long Way to Go

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

International Data Corporation (IDC) Canada announced today the release of a new report assessing Canadian enterprises' maturity and progress in implementing digital transformation initiatives and products across their organizations. IDC MaturityScape Benchmark: Digital Transformation in Canada helps Canadian business and IT leaders understand and cope with the challenges and opportunities that digital transformation (DX) can bring to their enterprises.

The report enables organizations to assess their Digital Transformation maturity level against industry benchmarks. It is designed for IT and business leaders and functional leaders and their teams as they look to uncover gaps between their own and their competitors' DX maturity.

Key findings of IDC's MaturityScape Benchmark report on DX in Canada include:

• The majority of Canadian organizations are in the early stages of their digital transformation journey. Roughly three in five (or 62.5%) organizations are in the first two stages of maturity: ad hoc and opportunistic. These organizations are characterized as "digital resisters" and "digital explorers" with disconnected IT processes and initiatives or lacking consistency and predictability in enabling digital customer experiences.
• Very few organizations are in the optimized top stage with respect to digital transformation in Canada. Just 2.2% of the organizations are considered to be "digital disruptors," aggressively exploiting digital technologies, innovating to create new business models, and remaking markets.
• Canadian organizations are similarly challenged in making progress across the five dimensions that represent the foundation for digital transformation: Leadership DX, Omni-Experience DX, WorkSource DX, Operating Model DX, and Information DX. IDC believes that enterprises will either become adept at digital transformation and thrive or fail to master the disciplines and struggle to survive.

"The notion of digital transformation is now pervasive in business. While digital technologies originated decades ago, what we're seeing today is profound, impacting every sector and function," according to Tony Olvet, group vice president of Research at IDC Canada. "IDC believes, however, that Canadian businesses are behind their global peers, in terms of both investing in digital transformation and taking the necessary steps to advance their position. Organizations that are bold in initiating change and following a path to transform will position themselves for success in the digital economy."

Despite the fact that Canada has a high proportion of digital resisters and explorers, IDC believes that progress is achievable toward more mature stages through deliberate planning, investment, and swift execution. The most important action that organizational leaders need to take is to create a vision that permeates every facet of the organization, where the customer experience – and the connected processes that shape that experience – are digitally enabled. The path to being a digital transformation leader requires the management of a continuous transition. Strategy comes first; however, enabling technologies such as cloud, mobile, social, and analytics are fundamental to making the transformation.

IDC MaturityScape Benchmark

IDC MaturityScape Benchmark reports aid in the discussion of IT strategy and technology investments by helping IT executives and their enterprise partners gauge where their enterprise is in relation to that of their peers and competitors, best achievers, and the least invested. By utilizing IDC benchmark data, IDC MaturityScape Benchmarks enable organizations to compare maturity against peers, pinpoint which dimensions of an initiative peer organizations are more mature in, and identify the benefits organizations achieve as they move to more mature stages. This benchmark study focused on organizations with 500 or more employees in Canada.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company.