Free your mind and innovation will follow

70% of businesses say a focus on everyday IT tasks is holding them back – and just one in 10 use innovation to drive competitive advantage

February 6th, 2014 – Executives are spending up to 85% of their IT budget just “keeping the lights on” – and say their businesses are being held back as a result.

A new report by Automic, the world’s most comprehensive platform in automating businesses, shows that executives believe strongly in the ability of technology to be transformative and a key driver towards innovation. Despite this, just 10% say they are using innovation to drive competitive advantage.

While 85% of respondents believe that achieving technological transformation is critical to driving innovation in the next three years, 70% say they haven’t taken advantage of new technology to run the business more efficiently. The same number say they’re being held back by having to focus on everyday tasks.

Fear factor
Fear also prevents executives from making the changes needed to achieve real innovation. A third (32%) feel fearful of the risks inherent in pursuing edgy new ideas that might not succeed, hesitant of the risks and the damage this might cause to them personally and their team. Three quarters (75%) believe that organisational reform is required to not just push innovation up the agenda, but make it happen successfully with limited risk. 70% argue that with better everyday processes, innovation could be much more effective.

Make like a start-up
An overwhelming 90% of respondents believe innovation is too slow in large businesses, while 75% say innovation is held back by cultural issues inherent to many large organisations. 70% are envious of the mobility that start-ups are able to demonstrate from their lack of legacy systems.

The changing role of the CIO
Nearly half of CIOs say their role has become bigger and three-quarters believe innovation is a core discipline. But at the same time 64% complain their role is too prescriptive – and a focus on the everyday leaves them struggling to effect innovative change.

Craig Beddis, CMO, Automic, says: “The Internet of Things and new developments in cloud, big data and SaaS are poised to create a technological explosion. These technologies provide a platform to achieve results, but only if CIOs adopt new roles to extend IT’s future strategic position in the enterprise. The need for CIOs to be more proactive in driving strategy and educating their C-level peers remains vital if transformation is to take place.

“The need now is for CIOs to evolve into ‘Chief Innovation Officers’ to ensure they not only survive but thrive in this new world. Addressing automation and integrating business operations for cost reductions and efficiency gains remains the first step to enable strategic projects. Free your mind and innovation will follow.”

Automic has identified a three-pronged approach to innovation:

• RUN THE BUSINESS – Ensure operational business processes run faster, smarter and with the least amount of risk
• BUILD THE BUSINESS – Ensure the release of applications and updates happens at high frequency without any negative consequences to operations
• TRANSFORM THE BUSINESS – Develop true innovation through visibility of new opportunities.

Download the whitepaper here: http://offers.automic.com/the-impact-of-technology-on-innovation

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Methodology
The research was undertaken from Nov 2013 – Dec 2013 by face-to-face interviews on a non-attributable basis, with a sample set. A cross-industry sample of US, UK and German companies were included.

For more information, please contact:
Sammy Jamieson / Jen Ferguson
automic@octopuscomms.net
08453 700 655

About Automic
Automic is the most comprehensive platform for automating businesses globally. We help more than 2,500 companies – from start-ups to global brands – grow their business by taking away the stress of the everyday so they can focus on innovating. We do this through automating every aspect of their business to eliminate errors, ensure compliance, reduce costs and maintain services while providing a full dashboard for business leaders.

Founded in 1985, in Austria, Automic is owned by EQT, the leading private equity group in Northern Europe following the acquisition from The Carlyle Group in 2012 for $270 Million.

http://automic.com/

Twitter: @AutomicSoftware
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Source: RealWire