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6 Indicators of a Successful Digital Transformation

Most (93%) enterprises are undergoing some kind of digital transformation driven primarily by a desire to cut costs (77%) and improve customer experience (71%), according to the State of Enterprise Digital Transformation survey conducted by Hanover Research and commissioned by AHEAD.

Yet of those surveyed, almost half (42%) are struggling to achieve success as they fall behind schedule or their efforts stall altogether.

The survey revealed the most common and difficult challenges of enterprise digital transformations are legacy systems (36%) and technical debt (24%). As such, 67% of respondents cited infrastructure as a big part of their digital transformation strategy.

An analysis of the survey results revealed six factors that correlate with digital transformation success.

1. Dedicated Leadership

The survey found that 83% of digital transformations that are on track or ahead of schedule are led by a CIO, CEO, CDO, or CTO. As digital transformation touches every part of an enterprise, company-wide buy-in is critical.

2. All-In Approach

Transformations that are on track are 30% more likely to be structured as full-scale change initiatives.

Because digital operations are often so interconnected, piecemeal and partial transformations can often be siloed and result in limited impact on the factors driving the transformation.

3. Defined Digital Roadmap

92% of transformations that are on target or ahead of schedule have a defined strategy and roadmap that includes IT infrastructure and operations.

4. Alignment Between Infrastructure and Apps

Enterprises powered by an integrated DevOps approach are 43% more likely to see success in digital transformation efforts. To avoid bottlenecks, enterprises should audit DevOps functions before undergoing digital transformation.

5. Platform Mindset

Businesses that include IT infrastructure as a big part of their digital transformation are 36% more likely to have a successful transformation. As the backbone of a digital change initiative, an enterprise's infrastructure determines how far the transformation will go and its limits.

6. Commitment to Intelligent Operations

Companies that monitor IT performance in real time and remediate issues quickly are 24% more likely to undergo a successful digital transformation

Companies that monitor IT performance in real time and remediate issues quickly are 24% more likely to undergo a successful digital transformation. Further, the survey found that enterprises are more likely to see success in digital transformation if they have confidence in their abilities to perform highly in areas of automation, monitoring, hybrid cloud models and integrated security.

Tom Pohlmann, Head of Customer Success and Marketing at AHEAD, concluded: "Transformations are complex and often involve conflicting objectives like cost cutting alongside customer experience improvements. Without a strong foundation on which to build, run and innovate, transformation efforts will fail."

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6 Indicators of a Successful Digital Transformation

Most (93%) enterprises are undergoing some kind of digital transformation driven primarily by a desire to cut costs (77%) and improve customer experience (71%), according to the State of Enterprise Digital Transformation survey conducted by Hanover Research and commissioned by AHEAD.

Yet of those surveyed, almost half (42%) are struggling to achieve success as they fall behind schedule or their efforts stall altogether.

The survey revealed the most common and difficult challenges of enterprise digital transformations are legacy systems (36%) and technical debt (24%). As such, 67% of respondents cited infrastructure as a big part of their digital transformation strategy.

An analysis of the survey results revealed six factors that correlate with digital transformation success.

1. Dedicated Leadership

The survey found that 83% of digital transformations that are on track or ahead of schedule are led by a CIO, CEO, CDO, or CTO. As digital transformation touches every part of an enterprise, company-wide buy-in is critical.

2. All-In Approach

Transformations that are on track are 30% more likely to be structured as full-scale change initiatives.

Because digital operations are often so interconnected, piecemeal and partial transformations can often be siloed and result in limited impact on the factors driving the transformation.

3. Defined Digital Roadmap

92% of transformations that are on target or ahead of schedule have a defined strategy and roadmap that includes IT infrastructure and operations.

4. Alignment Between Infrastructure and Apps

Enterprises powered by an integrated DevOps approach are 43% more likely to see success in digital transformation efforts. To avoid bottlenecks, enterprises should audit DevOps functions before undergoing digital transformation.

5. Platform Mindset

Businesses that include IT infrastructure as a big part of their digital transformation are 36% more likely to have a successful transformation. As the backbone of a digital change initiative, an enterprise's infrastructure determines how far the transformation will go and its limits.

6. Commitment to Intelligent Operations

Companies that monitor IT performance in real time and remediate issues quickly are 24% more likely to undergo a successful digital transformation

Companies that monitor IT performance in real time and remediate issues quickly are 24% more likely to undergo a successful digital transformation. Further, the survey found that enterprises are more likely to see success in digital transformation if they have confidence in their abilities to perform highly in areas of automation, monitoring, hybrid cloud models and integrated security.

Tom Pohlmann, Head of Customer Success and Marketing at AHEAD, concluded: "Transformations are complex and often involve conflicting objectives like cost cutting alongside customer experience improvements. Without a strong foundation on which to build, run and innovate, transformation efforts will fail."

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Organizations that perform regular audits and assessments of AI system performance and compliance are over three times more likely to achieve high GenAI value than organizations that do not, according to a survey by Gartner ...

Kubernetes has become the backbone of cloud infrastructure, but it's also one of its biggest cost drivers. Recent research shows that 98% of senior IT leaders say Kubernetes now drives cloud spend, yet 91% still can't optimize it effectively. After years of adoption, most organizations have moved past discovery. They know container sprawl, idle resources and reactive scaling inflate costs. What they don't know is how to fix it ...

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future investment. It's already embedded in how we work — whether through copilots in productivity apps, real-time transcription tools in meetings, or machine learning models fueling analytics and personalization. But while enterprise adoption accelerates, there's one critical area many leaders have yet to examine: Can your network actually support AI at the speed your users expect? ...

The more technology businesses invest in, the more potential attack surfaces they have that can be exploited. Without the right continuity plans in place, the disruptions caused by these attacks can bring operations to a standstill and cause irreparable damage to an organization. It's essential to take the time now to ensure your business has the right tools, processes, and recovery initiatives in place to weather any type of IT disaster that comes up. Here are some effective strategies you can follow to achieve this ...

In today's fast-paced AI landscape, CIOs, IT leaders, and engineers are constantly challenged to manage increasingly complex and interconnected systems. The sheer scale and velocity of data generated by modern infrastructure can be overwhelming, making it difficult to maintain uptime, prevent outages, and create a seamless customer experience. This complexity is magnified by the industry's shift towards agentic AI ...

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 19, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA explains the cause of the AWS outage in October ... 

The explosion of generative AI and machine learning capabilities has fundamentally changed the conversation around cloud migration. It's no longer just about modernization or cost savings — it's about being able to compete in a market where AI is rapidly becoming table stakes. Companies that can't quickly spin up AI workloads, feed models with data at scale, or experiment with new capabilities are falling behind faster than ever before. But here's what I'm seeing: many organizations want to capitalize on AI, but they're stuck ...

On September 16, the world celebrated the 10th annual IT Pro Day, giving companies a chance to laud the professionals who serve as the backbone to almost every successful business across the globe. Despite the growing importance of their roles, many IT pros still work in the background and often go underappreciated ...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping observability, and observability is becoming essential for AI. This is a two-way relationship that is increasingly relevant as enterprises scale generative AI ... This dual role makes AI and observability inseparable. In this blog, I cover more details of each side ...

Poor DEX directly costs global businesses an average of 470,000 hours per year, equivalent to around 226 full-time employees, according to a new report from Nexthink, Cracking the DEX Equation: The Annual Workplace Productivity Report. This indicates that digital friction is a vital and underreported element of the global productivity crisis ...