IT is consuming an increasing amount of an enterprise’s resources, from new applications to boosting network security. Yet, as every CIO knows, some organizations use information technology better than others.
PricewaterhouseCooper thinks good companies can be differentiated from the pack by what it calls their Digital IQ — how well companies understand the value of technology and weave it into the fabric of their organization.
In its recently-released sixth annual Digital IQ survey the consulting firm says it discovered five corporate behaviours that separated successful organizations from also-rans. Business that had a strong digital IQ were 2.2 times more likely to be top performers in revenue growth, profitability and innovation.
About 1,500 business and IT leaders in 36 countries were interviewed. How would your enterprise score on these metrics:
- The CEO actively champions digital initiatives to achieve strategy. Eighty-one per cent of top performers described their chief executive or senior business leader this way.
- The CIO and CMO have a strong working relationship. Seventy per cent of top performing companies said these two C-level execs had very strong or strong collaboration.
- They are more likely to look outside the company for applying emerging technologies in new ways to solve business problems.
- They use an integrated approach to IT transformation – a wide range of technologies including cloud, data mining cybersecurity, consumer mobile apps and social media are on their radar.
- They understand that the IT department needs broad skills ranging from technical architecture to business requirements management
“Company leaders ready to ramp up their Digital IQ and develop these interlocking capabilities will find that as they add each behavior, they will be better positioned for high performance,” says PwC. “Those who do not are destined to fall further behind.”