Manufacturers worried about siloed transformation, IDC brief reveals
A significant proportion of manufacturers in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) risk limiting their efforts by failing to connect key elements including digital transformation initiatives, data, and technology environments, according to a recent info brief by market intelligence and advisory company, IDC. 76 percent of manufacturers in the META region are currently engaged in, or about to start, a formal digital transformation program,
In total, 44 percent of organizations said their digital transformation initiatives are not integrated, undermining the perception of DX as being everyone’s responsibility, and that their digital roadmap focuses on the short term and fails to factor in the long-term transformation of their industry. 51 percent pointed to siloed data as a challenge, driven by limited understanding of existing data assets, and a lack of enterprise-wide data management, often exacerbated by unintegrated decision-making based on small subsets of data using rudimentary analytic models.
62 percent of organizations polled worry about siloed technology environments. Indeed, in many organizations, multiple digital technology environments exist separately from core IT. Some organizations have consolidated this into two separate technology environments – core IT and digital innovation – connected via APIs, the info brief states.
“It’s vital for manufacturers to achieve successful digital transformation due to rapidly changing customer profiles, business models, and the proliferation and growing use of apps and digital devices,” said Jebin George, IDC program manager. “By adopting an integrated digital platform, manufacturers can increase their chances of successful digital transformation, which can help them automate, add value to their business, and position them to prosper as we move into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
This message is especially pertinent in the Middle East, where 75 percent of the population is Millennial or Gen Z, providing a growing base of digital consumers. Moreover, national industrial development plans across the region are focused on digitalization of the manufacturing sector, and a high volume of “digital-native” enterprises are creating business models that could present new opportunities to manufacturers.
Organizations can overcome these challenges and improve their chances of successful DX by adopting a cloud-based integrated digital platform to connect the islands and break the silos. To achieve this, these companies need to extensively restructure, placing data at the centre of their processes to increase speed, agility, efficiency, and innovation, according to IDC. Enterprise applications need to be powered by an intelligent core that analyses different types of data from a myriad of sources.
