Almost one-in-four (23%) UK businesses have cancelled at least one digital transformation project due to fears surrounding the impact of Brexit, according to new research.
UK businesses are facing trying times – rapid technological change, global political uncertainty and the nation is currently negotiating its way out of the European Union. And yet, these factors are doing little to curb the growth ambitions of corporate Britain.
According to recent research, conducted by Interoute, 90% of UK firms remain ambitious for growth in the next 10 months, with 63% of British enterprises confidently predicting high growth.
However, businesses aren’t blind to the impact of the Brexit, with IT leaders admitting that some factors could curb the nation’s drive towards digital transformation.
The vast majority of CIOs in the UK (94%), said that Brexit had impacted their IT decision-making, with a further 58% identifying uncertainty surrounding the changing political landscape as the single biggest barrier to digital transformation success.
In what could prove a much needed wake-up call, more than half (52%) of CIOs believe that there is “a lack of direction and consensus from the C-suite” at a time when clarity is needed most.
Challenging times on the political stage may have been a factor for the 23% of UK firms that have cancelled at least one digital transformation project, with 18% remaining cautious about change and putting transformation budgets on hold for the time being.
However, although some have reacted to recent uncertainty by pulling projects, many are adapting in anticipation of unexpected change; 42% are proactively modernising IT systems to improve operations and reduce cost, while others are enhancing experiences offered to employees (42%) and customers (38%).
CTO at Interoute, Matthew Finnie explained: “This study proves that most British enterprises are proactively making technology decisions and are prepared to pivot quickly to remain competitive in the face of a changing and uncertain market. It also illustrates how technology planning has taken a strategic shift.
“Digital transformation is about ensuring an organisation is flexible enough to react to geo-political and market changes as well as delivering customer and business value. This requires an ICT infrastructure that enables, not inhibits, change. Rather than handcuffing an organisation to a specific vendor or inflexible infrastructure choice, it is about ensuring the platform and provider you choose gives you the freedom to change and adapt as the market does.”
