Digital transformation will create jobs not kill them

When it comes to organizational impact, IT companies may be expecting to add jobs (including mobile app developers) over the next three to five years due to new projects (72 percent) and new technologies (69 percent) for digital transformation, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Appian. Even more, 77 percent of IT leaders report digital transformation is a job creator according to their survey. The results were announced at Appian World in San Francisco, California.

Coming at a time when Forrester predicts that by 2025, technologies like robots, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and automation will replace 7 percent of jobs (or 22.7 million) in the US alone, YouGov surveyed more than 500 Information Technology Decision Makers (ITDMs) to understand their perspectives on digital transformation.

Investment areas for digital transformation are radically changing in the enterprise

These changing investment strategies represent a more holistic approach to IT innovation, programming, and more that drives value for both customers and employees. The survey results indicate that significant majorities of IT leaders believe investment in digital transformation plays a fundamental role for both operations and employees amid increased competitive pressure.

- 85 percent of IT leaders(according to the report) report investments in digital transformation are expanding past the front lines (e.g., marketing and sales) and into core operations (e.g., business operations and operational agility)
- 77 percent of IT leaders agree investments in digital transformation to improve operational agility are top of mind for senior leadership
- 83 percent believe digital transformation investments are key to improving employee productivity

Effective integration of emerging technologies poses real challenges

There are several challenges when it comes to integrating new technologies, such as machine learning, which require specialized application development, programming,  and data mining skills which are increasingly expensive and hard to find. This proves to be a real concern given the demand is increasing and the skills shortage is not shrinking fast enough to meet company needs.

- 93 percent of IT leaders report the demand for new and innovative business applications will increase over the next three to five years
- 76 percent cited a growing lack of IT skills in deploying emerging technologies is hindering digital transformation

"In 2017, the world wants more software per developer than ever before," said Matt Calkins, Appian CEO. "We need productivity accelerators, like low-code platforms, to overcome the disparity between supply and demand."

The risks of falling behind are real, if companies do not focus on investing in diversifying workforce skills and effective integration of new technologies across the enterprise. The majority of IT leaders surveyed (88 percent) believe organizations not deploying new and emerging technologies risk losing potential revenue


Read more: http://www.appian.com/assets/survey-narrative.pdf