In a New Report, Senior Executives from NTT DATA, Acorio, and ServiceNow Explore Digital Transformation

The report, which incorporates insights from seven executives from ServiceNow and NTT DATA across the globe, explores why experiences are still the focal point of transformation, the key criteria to building the capacity for successful change, and what's ahead for digital transformation in 2022.

"We have entered a new era — one where leaders face constant uncertainty on all fronts. While having a vision and strategy at the forefront is still critical, it's just as important to build the capacity to see changes on the horizon and respond to them with agility. Transformation is no longer just a project — it's the defining skill set of tomorrow," Hiroshi Sugiyama, Senior Vice President, NTT DATA Corporation.

The eBook is available for digital download here, or you may skim a preview of the insights below.

Businesses need to build the processes to become better and faster at innovating

The need for innovation in today's post-pandemic world is obvious — but the organizational capacity for it lags. More than one-third of organizations reported in the NTT DATA Innovation Index that their culture holds back their investment in digital technologies, and only slightly more than 40 percent of them have a proactive approach to innovation.

"In the past, you designed intending to last over time," Andrea de Stefano, Vice President and Head of Business and Service Process Automation, NTT DATA, said. "Now, you need to design something that you already know will change, but you don't know how it will change."

Successful businesses in 2022 will have an agile culture that embraces change. The leaders interviewed for the report advocate for a bold approach to pushing through four challenges to build the capacity for successful change:

• Setting a vision for the future employees can rally around
• Bringing the right people together
• Choosing the right technology
• Tracking value in real-time and adapting as needed

"This weird world we've been living in for the past two years, with a pandemic of this scale, has driven prioritization criteria around what's urgent, like remote work," Tara Garson Flower, Vice President of Customer Outcomes at ServiceNow, said. "Now, leaders know what they don't want — manual processes, multiple systems, downtime — but they can find it hard to visualize what the possibilities for the future are."

Three trends shape the future of digital transformation in 2022 and beyond

The leaders also identified three trends that will be critical in the evolution of digital transformation over the next 12 to 24 months, including breaking away from horizontal and industry siloes, embracing new technologies, and creating meaning from data to focus transformation efforts.

Leaders are taking on the biggest transformation efforts of their careers — not just because the technology is there to support it, but because they know they will be irrelevant if they don't. Leaders must recognize that to serve their customers better; they need to enable their partners and channels better. This transforms not only the partner's experience but the ultimate end customer's experience.

To hear the complete set of insights new data and explore top innovation stories and examples, download the entire digital transformation eBook.