Security is the largest factor standing in the way of enterprise digital transformation efforts, according to a new report from technology solutions Company SoftServe. More than half (55%) of companies said that Security was the No. 1 challenge they face when implementing digital enablement technologies, the report found.
This follows news of a widespread shortage of security professionals across all enterprises. Some 57% of businesses recently reported major issues finding and recruiting talented IT security staff—a problem as digital transformation efforts move more data and systems to the cloud, and cyber attacks grow more sophisticated.
Other than security, budgetary constraints were a major challenge for 50% of enterprises—which makes sense, the report noted, as IT budgets are largely predicted to remain flat in 2017. Digital transformation efforts are often costly, with more than half of companies spending at least $1 million on these projects, according to another recent survey from SADA Systems.
Other obstacles to digital transformation plans included a lack of Strategy across the organization (31%), a lack of required skills (27%), and competing interests (26%). Just 11% reported a lack of clear Business case, the report found, so most businesses seem to understand the advantages digital transformation can provide.
Digital transformation efforts are underway at most organizations, the report found: Some 27% of enterprises said they have implemented a transformative strategy across their entire Business, while 46% said they have implemented it across parts of their business. And 25% said they planned to adopt digital strategies in the future. Only 2% of businesses surveyed said they had no plans to adopt digital transformation.
