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< News and Events

New survey highlights leadership crisis in digital transformation

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New survey highlights

leadership crisis in digital

transformation

Only 50% of companies are successfully executing on their digital transformation strategies despite demonstrated efforts and investments

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New York, NY - June 1, 2017:

Wipro Digital, the digital business unit of Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), today released a new study that indicates leadership within digital transformation may be in crisis. Half of senior executives polled across companies feel that their company is not successfully executing against 50% of their strategies. The study surveyed 400 senior-level U.S. executives about the digital transformation strategies within their organizations.

The report’s findings also show that while 91 percent of executives are aligned on what digital transformation means, only 4 percent realize half of their digital investment in under one year - with the majority of respondents saying it has taken their company 2-3 years to see at least half of these investments come to fruition.

"Digital transformation efforts are coming up short on intended ROI, in part because digital transformation is as much a leadership issue as it is a strategy, technology, culture, and talent issue," says Rajan Kohli, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Wipro Digital. "Real digital transformation occurs when courageous leaders align goals in practice as well as theory, manage opportunity more than risk, and prioritize the future vs. retrofit the present."

Key study findings identify leadership issues as a key factor in the widespread stall in digital transformation efforts:

  • Companies are aligned on what digital transformation means in theory, but not in practice: 91 percent of executives believe their company is aligned on the definition of digital transformation - yet 1 in 4 executives note that a key obstacle to success in their strategies was a lack of alignment on what digital transformation actually means. Lack of a clear transformation strategy was similarly cited by 35 percent of executives as a key barrier to achieving its full digital potential.
  • Underlying doubts among leaders: Nearly 1 in 5 senior executives admit that they secretly believe that digital transformation projects in their company are a waste of time.
  • Leadership mindset & skills challenges: CEOs, CTOs and CIOs are almost equally likely to serve as the primary driver for digital transformation strategies, and they are at least twice as likely to do so more than any other senior executive - yet mindset and skill challenges, such as resistance to introducing new ways of working (39 percent), and feeling overwhelmed by digital complexity (40 percent), were cited as the top two leading obstacles preventing a company from achieving its full digital potential.
  • Focus on back-end benefits vs. product innovation and growth: Back-end departments such as Operations and IT are by far the leading beneficiaries of digital transformation strategies, and combined with Procurement and Finance, are cited by 60 percent of executives as reaping the benefits. Far less likely to benefit are departments such as Product Development (15 percent), Marketing (13 percent), and Sales (10 percent).
  • IT investment by executive versus ownership: CMOs are spending more than ever on IT - yet they are the least likely of any senior executive (2 percent) to drive digital transformation strategies. Chief Digital Officers fare little better in driving just 12 percent. Findings correlate with the fact that nearly 1 in 4 executives say that a key obstacle to success is that their company’s structure hasn’t changed to reflect digital imperatives.

Methodology

In May 2017, Wipro Digital commissioned an online survey of 400 senior-level executives in the United States with more than 100 employees.

About Wipro Limited

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have a dedicated workforce of over 170,000, serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future.

Wipro Digital, the digital business unit of Wipro, collaborates and iterates with clients to deliver customer-centered digital transformation. Working at the intersection of strategy, design and technology, we derive insight, shape interaction, drive integration and unlock innovation for our clients. We apply Customer Journey Engineering to create extraordinary experiences for global brands, businesses and their customers at scale. Learn more at wiprodigital.com or @WiproDigital.

Media Contacts:
Alex Beal
Wipro Digital
+1 (207) 807-8711
alexander.beal@wipro.com

Brianna Mulligan
Ruder Finn
+1 (203) 246-1304
mulliganb@ruderfinn.com 

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

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