Microsoft publishes new productivity report revealing the challenges of digital transformation in the UK

Laurent Giret

Digital transformation has been a hot topic this year, which Microsoft launching a new offering called Microsoft 365 that includes Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security. As you know, the Redmond giant is on a journey to empower everyone and every organization to achieve more, and today the company published a new study showing that employee’s fear of change is putting British businesses at risk.

Microsoft’s new productivity report, which can be found here, is entitled “Creating a Culture of Digital Transformation.” According to the company, it’s one of the most extensive reports on the state of the UK’s digital transformation to date. The in-depth study was conducted in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London, and YouGov, and it’s the result of interviews with more than 1,000 business leaders and employees in the UK.

The report reveals that only 23% of organizations in the country have developed cultural cultural change programs, which are the necessary first step to help employees realise the value of digital transformation. Moreover, 53% of UK organizations have already invested in digital transformation programs, even though the exact same percentage of companies expect their industries to be disrupted over the next two years.

“The majority of businesses investing in digital transformation programmes face a common challenge in realising value from their investments: the human factor,” Microsoft explained in a press release. “Findings reveal that moves to improve how people work by introducing new technologies creates anxiety among employees (61%), the automation of tasks creates fears about job security (59%) and staff express a fear of change when digital transformation initiatives are introduced (49%).”

For Cindy Rose, Microsoft UK CEO and Area Vice President, this report is a great resource for companies that have yet to realize the profound cultural changes that are necessary to support digital transformation. “Digital transformation is not a technology deployment or an IT exercise, it’s a people exercise,” she explained. “Business leaders must therefore embrace cultural transformation from the top and explore the behavioural shifts that are needed to bring about lasting change,” she added.