IDC Reveals Worldwide Digital Transformation Predictions

While IDC continues to see tremendous momentum and influence of digital transformation (DX) on technology spending worldwide, across all geographies and industries, 59% of companies remain at either stage two or three of DX maturity, or what IDC calls a "digital impasse.

The 2018 DX predictions are primarily organized against the five pillars of IDC's digital transformation maturity model: Leadership, Omni-Experience, Information, Operating Model, and WorkSource. In addition, the new report includes a forecast on DX investments, which helps contextualize these predictions as part of direct DX investment of $6.3 trillion for 2018-2020.

Most importantly, the latest DX predictions provide a set of planning assumptions to help IT executives consider how these prognoses would manifest themselves. That vision, combined with IDC's future road maps, will offer a framework for advancing digital maturity.

The predictions from the IDC FutureScape for Worldwide Digital Transformation are:

• Prediction 1: By the End of 2019, DX Spending Will Reach $1.7 Trillion Worldwide, a 42% Increase from 2017
• Prediction 2: By 2019, All Digitally Transformed Organizations Will Generate at Least 45% of Their Revenue from "Future of Commerce" Business Models
• Prediction 3: By 2020, Investors Will View Digital Businesses Differently, with Specific Measures Based on Platform Participation, Data Value, and Customer Engagement Accounting for over 75% of Enterprise Valuations
• Prediction 4: By the End of 2018, at Least 40% of Organizations Will Have a Fully Staffed Digital Leadership Team Versus a Single DX Executive Lead to Accelerate Enterprise-wide DX Initiatives
• Prediction 5: By 2019, Personal Digital Assistants and Bots Will Execute Only 1% of Transactions, But They Will Influence 10% of Sales, Driving Growth Among the Organizations That Have Mastered Utilizing Them
• Prediction 6: By 2020, in over Half of Global 2000 Firms, Revenue Growth from Information-Based Products and Services Will Be Twice the Growth Rate of the Balance of the Product/Service Portfolio
• Prediction 7: By 2020, 85% of New Operation-Based Technical Position Hires Will Be Screened for Analytical and AI Skills, Enabling the Development of Data-Centric DX Projects Without Hiring New Data-Centric Talent
• Prediction 8: By 2020, 25% of Global 2000 Companies Will Have Developed Digital Training Programs and Digital Cooperatives to Compete More Effectively in Talent Wars
• Prediction 9: By 2019, 40% of Digital Transformation Initiatives Will Be Supported by Cognitive/AI Capabilities, Providing Timely Critical Insights for New Operating and Monetization Models
• Prediction 10: By 2020, 60% of All Enterprises Will Have Fully Articulated an Organization-wide Digital Platform Strategy and Will Be in the Process of Implementing That Strategy

According to Shawn Fitzgerald, research director, Worldwide Digital Transformation Strategies, IDC, "This year's DX predictions represent the latest thinking on the key programs, technologies, and processes needed to achieve success in the digital economy as more companies are embracing and engaging their enterprise transformations. While we are seeing more companies becoming more digitally capable, there is a widening gap between leaders and laggards, with significant implications for those organizations that cannot make the transition to a digital-native organization.