While rapid advances in technology are continuing to drive business transformation agendas, less than a third (29%) of senior leaders consider their technology foundation readiness to be very high, according to a new survey from KPMG International.

The findings of KPMG’s Transforming the enterprise of the future report reveal the importance of advanced technologies in driving transformation, with 76% of senior leaders believing that generative AI, neural networks, and digital twins will significantly enhance the likelihood of transformational success.

Despite this, enterprises are scrambling to keep up. For the vast majority of enterprises transformation is no longer episodic, but a state of continuous reinvention. A majority (88%) of enterprises are now running two or more transformation programs, while over half (54%) are running three or more concurrently.

The research uncovers the top five barriers limiting digital transformation: lack of resources, skills or expertise; stakeholder resistance to change; stakeholder and employee resistance; competing business goals; and a lack of funds or an unclear business case.

To unlock capacity and value, KPMG’s report expects outperformers to have strengths across four areas:

• Resilient cultures: Establishing a culture of trust, shared values and alignment to the strategic vision is a key to transformation success and long-term organisational resilience. It comes as the research reveals that 73% of digitally mature enterprises have high levels of trust in their leaders.
• Digital maturity: Digitally mature enterprises are more likely to outperform. Yet, many enterprises are not leveraging the full value of their data, technology, and people. Two-thirds of senior leaders rated their tech foundations as no better than adequate; while most expect the impacts of technology on transformation to rise in the next one to three years.
• Partner ecosystem alignment: Leading companies are leveraging partnerships to accelerate go-to-market strategies, outmanoeuvre supply chain challenges and leapfrog technology capabilities. Our research shows that only one-third of senior leaders believe their current partner ecosystem is strongly aligned with their transformation goals. Looking ahead, these leaders expect to invest more in partnerships rather than in building or buying technology.
• Strong orchestration capabilities: Approximately 60% of senior leaders and line leads believe that adopting advanced technology will increase the likelihood of transformation success.

The report emphasizes that new technologies and expansive data repositories are helping enterprises to create greater value. These and other tools enable better resource allocation, data analysis and insights, customer understanding, risk management, and product and service innovation.

Commenting on the research findings, Tash Moore, Global Transformation Leader at KPMG International, said:

"We’re at a real inflection point in the digital revolution. Enterprises can capitalize on this to create and unlock greater value and achieve competitive advantage – including the deliberate choices on how digital and data is utilized, to risk management and driving product and service innovation.

“Transformation is now a continuous journey. Our research underscores the importance of trust in leadership and the strategic use of partnerships in navigating this complex digital landscape. Enterprises that effectively integrate advanced technologies and complement with digital literacy, strong leadership, and sound judgment are well-positioned to thrive."