The report, in its second year having been piloted in 2017, identified artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) as technologies under the umbrella of digital transformation.

Six factors for digital transformation success

The six factors for digital transformation success were determined following participation in an online survey by 1,535 c-suite executives at medium to large-sized companies based across Australia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the UK and the US.

The six factors identified by Fujitsu were: Leadership, People, Agility, Business Integration, Ecosystem and Value from Data.

The companies declaring positive outcomes from digital transformation showed showing strong capabilities in these areas.

>See also: Looking for leadership? How to inspire your team to do more

Also revealed were the driving factors of businesses embarking on digital transformation journeys, which varied based on the sector. Participants working within the finance, manufacturing and healthcare sectors cited a need to boost operational efficiency, whereas participants from the transportation sector alluded see digital transformation as a way to keep up with competition, and c-suite representatives from retail cited business growth.

>See also: Why a bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone

The finance sector proved to have made the most progress in regards to digital transformation, with approximately 90% of respondents from within the sector showing engagement, and around 30% of finance and retail companies declaring successful business outcomes as a result of digital transformation.

Healthcare (14%) was the only sector to yield a successful business outcome percentage below 20%.

>See also: How can the healthcare sector embrace the transition to mobile working?

Furthermore, the general consensus among participants in specific reference to the use of AI proved positive; 68% of participants expressed a belief that employees will be working in collaboration with AI in the future, while 61% expressed confidence in AI to create new jobs.

For the most part, it seems that most sectors are ready to embrace further transformation efforts, and are ready for the challenges it will bring.