SAP commissioned a study with findings that up to 93 percent of companies consider intelligent technology key to digital transformation.
Intelligent Technology and Digital Transformation
SAP has announced research findings from a study conducted by industry analyst Forrester Consulting that indicate that intelligent technology is critical for supporting digital transformation in an enterprise.More than 740 respondents were surveyed, up to 93 percent of companies agree that innovation technologies are key to achieving their digital transformation goals.
To be selected as a participant in this study, companies had to meet two important criteria: First, they had to be actively undergoing digital transformation. Second, they must have implemented at least two innovation technologies such as machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and augmented or virtual reality.
The study found that as companies seek competitive advantages, they are prioritising innovation technologies. These companies are implementing or have already implemented innovation technologies to drive digital transformation.
“By partnering with Forrester on this intelligent enterprise study, we were able to uncover some of the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing new technologies,” said Irfan Khan, president, SAP Platform & Technologies, Global Customer Operations. “The study found that as companies seek competitive advantages, they are prioritising innovation technologies. We are seeing businesses use the IoT, AI, augmented reality, ML and blockchain to improve processes, drive innovation and meet digital transformation objectives.”
Survey Results
The study also found that as digital transformation journeys continue to be a priority for enterprises, organisations are increasingly optimising existing processes to improve efficiency, extending processes to capture new value, and transforming business models to gain new revenue streams. According to the study, 92 percent of companies showed a high interest in platforms that can unify data collected by, and used across, all intelligent technologies and business processes.
Based on the results, different industries are focused on different priorities and leveraging multiple intelligent technologies, according to their varying levels of digital maturity and unique business goals. For example, most discrete manufacturers are prioritising implementing or expanding predictive maintenance efforts. In comparison, retailers are primarily focused on using Big Data and predictive analytics to make assortment decisions, and utility companies are applying a digital boardroom where executives can see real-time capacity or efficiency rates.
As the study states, “Intelligent enterprises win in the digital era. An intelligent enterprise is an entity connecting people, processes, data and technologies as a means to accelerate digital transformation, doing more with less, improving customer engagement and inventing new revenue streams.”
Find out more about this study here.




