27 Stats about Digital Workplace Transformations

Digital transformations and employee enablement are important focuses in our changing working world. In order to increase employee efficiency and meet changing workstyle demands, organizations need to find ways to keep employees productive where ever they are.

Organizations resoundingly agree that digital workplace enhancements are important to company success, and many are making moves in that direction.

1. 95% of organizations agree that a digital workplace is important. (Source)
2. 44% of workplaces have some form of digital workplace programs in place. (Source)
3. 17% of organizations have plans to create a formal digital workspace strategy in the next two years. (Source)
4. Organizations use an average of 16 SaaS applications (up from an average of 8 in 2015). (Source)

The movement has momentum and clear benefits, but as recent studies prove, there’s still a long way to go in realizing fully optimized digital workplaces and employee enablement. Here’s a snapshot of the current state of corporate digital transformation – and what’s holding it back.

Benefits of Digital Workplaces

The benefits of enabling employees via digital workplace solutions are clear. Benefits range from increased focus and productivity to improved employee satisfaction and retention.

5. Employees who work for firms that make apps available and highly accessible spend 17% less time on manual processes. (Source)
6. 87% of CIOs believe digitally empowering employees can drive at least 5% additional revenue growth over 3 years. (Source)
7. 54% of CIOs agreed that the ability for their workforce to more easily access business applications has reduced attrition rates. (Source)
8. 94% of IT survey respondents reported significant benefits from adopting SaaS. (Source)
9. By getting to the point where 6 in 10 employees strongly agree they have the materials and equipment they need to do their work right, organizations could realize an 11% increase in profitability. (Source)
10. The top five goals of overall digital workspace strategies are: 
    • Grow revenue (40%)
    • Gain a competitive advantage (40%)
    • Improve business processes (40%)
    • Accelerate decision-making (37%)
    • Improve employee productivity (33%) (Source)

The Gap: Enablement & Access

Despite the clear benefits and belief in the need to adopt employee enablement and digital workplace technologies, many organizations are lagging behind in implementing changes. Of even more concern, there is a disconnect between executives and employees when it comes to rating access.

11. 38% of organizations are currently implementing digital workplace technology. (Source) 
12. Only 3 in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that they have the materials and equipment they need to do their work right. (Source)
13. 74% of workers say that employers do not give them access to the latest technology to help them do their job more effectively and efficiently. (Source)
14. 59% of companies provide the apps workers want and need, but don’t make them easily accessible. (Source)
15. Only 18% of companies provide the apps workers want and need AND make them readily accessible anywhere, anytime on any device. (Source)
16. 47% of CIOS strongly agree that they provide employees with the apps they want … but only 24% of employees strongly agree. (Source)

Driving Forces & Decision Makers

Most of these digital transformations are largely driven by a move to the cloud, but exact decisions are split between executive management, IT departments and line of business owners.

17. 48% of organizations report adopting cloud services because it’s a better cost model. (Source)
18. 73% of organizations say nearly all their apps will be SaaS by 2020. (Source)
19. 69% of organization determine which business processes need to be changed, then implement workplace technology to help drive those desired changes. (Source)
20. C-level executives (often CEOs and CIOs) are the champion of digital workplace changes in 65% of organizations. (Source)
21. At 72% of organizations, the IT department is responsible for making digital workplace technology purchasing decisions. (Source)
22. 39% of organizations get significant input from lines of business when defining digital workplace strategies. (Source)

Hurdles

Despite being a transformative approach to workplace enablement, many of the hurdles remain the same as other IT-based projects. Organizations struggle with management, cost and security when deploying new applications and workplace strategies.

23. Two-thirds of organizations need support from external partners when planning, designing, deploying and benefiting from workplace technology solutions. (Source)
24. One-third require a significant amount of support, with third-party partners taking a central role. (Source)
25. IT issues are a major barrier for 62% of organizations when it comes to successfully adopting digital transformation initiatives. (Source)
26. When purchases SaaS applications, cost (59%), security (47%) and ease of use (38%) are the top criteria IT professionals care about. (Source)
27. The top three challenges to creating a digital workplace are: 
    • Budget constraints (41%)
    • Lack of cross-departmental collaboration (31%)
    • Limitations of current platforms (30%) (Source)

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