Leading in a Digital-First World

Crisis can be a catalyst for innovation. The Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to overhaul traditional operating models and adapt to a new environment. Confronted with rapid change, many businesses have raced to establish a digital-first operating model that connects employees, customers, partners and suppliers in a secure, seamless and trusted way.

Some organisations have struggled with this transition, while others have made faster progress and are already benefitting from their digital advantage. In its global survey of 750 C-suite executives, conducted between February and April 2021, Tata Communications reveals how organisations are progressing towards becoming digital-first organisations – and why the leaders are performing better than the rest.

The research highlights three distinct groups of organisations who have had varying degrees of success with their digitalisation programmes:

• The Digital Trailblazers, which have established mature digital-first operating models
• The Digital Migrators, which have made partial progress to digitalisation
• The Digital Aspirants, which are still at the early stages of the journey

Digital Trailblazers versus the rest

More digitally mature firms outperform their peers

Where do the Digital Trailblazers outperform their rivals?

1. Digital Trailblazers consider all aspects of operations

The Digital Trailblazers have invested not only in advanced digital platforms, but also in the skills and strategies that allow them to exploit the opportunities of new technology.

They also understand the importance of safe, secure and trusted interactions with every stakeholder connecting with the business.

The areas where Digital Trailblazers outperform Digital Migrators and Digital Aspirants include:

• Digital-first capability: The Digital Trailblazers have optimised their processes to take advantage of digital: 85% say they are highly successful at delivering a digital-first operating model for their ecosystem, compared with 69% of Digital Migrators and 51% of Digital Aspirants. Inevitably, some sectors have greater challenges here: transport and logistics, for example, often lag behind; financial services companies, on the other hand, typically do better.
• Quality of user experience: 90% of Digital Trailblazers provide high-quality digital experiences for their customers, employees and business partners, far ahead of Digital Migrators and Digital Aspirants. The ability to collaborate across the ecosystem enables Digital Trailblazers to boost productivity, despite the disruption caused by Covid-19.