A year on from the start of lockdown in the UK and this year’s PWC 24th Annual Global CEO Survey has been launched. So, perhaps no surprise is the prevalence of digital transformation within the report with nearly half of CEO’s planning to increase their long-term digital investment by 10% or more, with just under half proposing this ‘heightened digital investment also planning to increase spend on cybersecurity and data privacy by 10% or more’.
Looking back to the PWC 23rd Annual Global CEO survey, launched pre pandemic in 2020, it referenced digital transformation in terms of how active CEOs where in upskilling programmes. Over half (51%) of CEOs in more advanced upskilling organisations said the programmes in achieving greater innovation and accelerated digital transformation were very effective. With 18% of global CEOs making significant progress in establishing upskilling programmes which included digital skills.
While this indicates that many firms where already on the digital transformation journey pre-COVID, it also suggests caution, at the time, due to the speed of implementation across the sector.
Roll on to 2021 with all its might and back to this year’s PWC survey results where 36% of CEOs say they will be concentrating on productivity through automation and technology.
So, whilst the lockdown forced swift change with remote working, meetings via Zoom and Teams, it has also given firms the confidence to continue this digital journey as acceptance and adoption of processes have prompted necessary and quick onboarding. The digital transformation journey may be a given now. The important question is how can it be done better?
What 2020 has done is made firms realise that digital transformation must happen. A year on and what we are seeing is the need to refine what has been implemented to make sure that any digital enhancement is doing just that – enhancing!
When it comes to professional services firms, there’s a significant investment in practice management and/or a CRM – which will be a central consideration in any firms’ digital strategy. It's in relation to these software platforms that we have noticed a lot of attention during the COVID scenario concerning Data Quality Management. More so than in previous years firms are paying particular attention to the quality of their data assets.
Our consultants have been busy deploying automation and integration solutions that allow our clients to ensure the quality of the data held in relation to clients, prospects and key business associates is current and accurate.
Our Client Sense platform forms one element of this work focused on relationship intelligence and providing insights into the connections that ought to be happening between a firm and its clients that aren’t. Insights such as this example allow a firm to stay on top of critical relationships to keep them healthy and highlight opportunities for cross-sell.
Our SymConnect platform forms the other element by connecting data silos and enriching the data held in core systems through its integration capabilities. Getting in-depth insights into the complex network of relationships held by your firm, and ensuring you have real time quality data is essential part of any digital transformation strategy and growth.
At Symphony - APS we specialise in offering products and services for professional services firms that drive growth. Read about other solutions in our comprehensive product library including: accountancy Practice Management, CRM for accountants, relationship intelligence and Marketing Automation.
Sources: PWC 23rd and 24th Annual Global CEO Surveys
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