We spend hours and hours each day scrolling through Facebook.
We arrange our personal and professional lives through social media.
We can hardly remember a time when answers weren’t right at our fingertips due to the magic of Google.
So it may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that when it comes to our digital skills, many of us are sorely lacking. A recent study by Fujitsu found that 42% of UK businesses have been forced to cancel digital projects during the past two years, losing a whopping £483,690 each time.
Ravi Krishnamoorthi, Head of Business Consulting, Digital and Application Services at Fujitsu EMEIA, commented, ‘UK businesses know how powerful technology can be and want to use digital to deliver for customers and keep ahead of the competition. However, digital transformation is about much more than the technology alone. Businesses need to have the right skills, processes and partnerships in place – and that’s where we’re seeing UK executives struggling. We’re living in a time when digital disruption can change the business landscape virtually overnight. UK organisations must ensure that they can transform successfully and secure their place in the global landscape’.
These findings may be surprising to many, but the comments raise an interesting point. Too many employers are placing their focus on acquiring the latest technology, without giving enough consideration to equipping their people with the skills needed to make the best possible return on that investment.
- Want to future-proof your business?
- Want to be able to harness the power of technology to improve productivity and profitability?
- Want to tap into the power of the web to attract all the best customers and clients from around the world?
You can absolutely do that. But without the right talent on your team, making the decisions and rolling out the plans and keeping them on track, you could be wasting a lot of money on bright shiny objects that will fail to deliver the results you’re expecting.
Krishnamoorthi added, ‘Businesses must take steps to address their skills gaps, including upskilling their existing staff and attracting new talent. Executives have to instill a culture that fosters and supports innovation, with the processes in place to make use of new tools. And finally all UK organisations must recognise the power of true collaboration, to deliver extraordinary new ideas’.
The bottom line here is clear. Technology that isn’t underpinned by talent is dangerous, and it’s a mistake that plenty of organisations are making. The two need to go hand in hand if your business is going to thrive in the future. Is it time that you rethink your approach?