TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Mar 2, 2016) - New Avanade research shows that the majority of Canadian business leaders are already investing in, and benefiting from, the increased use of smart technologies in the workplace. Increased revenue is a major driver of their adoption, with Canadian business and IT leaders expecting up to a 39 per cent rise in revenue from smart technologies over the next five years. Additionally, Canadian businesses anticipate retraining current employees, creating new roles and reorganizing their structure as up to 20 per cent of existing roles are repurposed.
Smart technologies refer to technologies -- such as connected devices, wearables and intelligent automation -- that allow computers or machines to do work or make decisions traditionally done by humans.
Highlights include:
- Seventy-five per cent of Canadian companies have already made significant investments in smart technology, and are experiencing key benefits from smart technologies, including increased revenue and an improved customer experience and higher employee satisfaction.
- Ninety-six per cent of Canadian companies believe that it will be easier for organizations to attract and retain top talent as they increase their reliance on smart technologies.
- Canadian respondents said that they will require more skills in the areas of problem solving (59 per cent), the ability to gather and analyze data (73 per cent), critical thinking (67 per cent) and collaboration (61 per cent) as they blend smart technologies with humans in the war for talent.
- Sixty-seven per cent believe smart technologies will play a key role in supporting the customer experience in Canada; identifying sales leads (63 per cent) and at-risk customers (57 per cent).
- Seventy-three per cent of Canadian organizations believe that they have not given enough thought to the workplace ethical dilemmas created by the increased use of smart technologies.
Not quite ready: Focus on digital ethics to emerge as digital workplace evolves
While the benefits of smart technology adoption are clear and compelling, C-level executives in particular are grappling with ethical issues stemming from the use of smart technologies. Seventy-three per cent of Canadian business and IT leaders believe that their organization has not given enough thought to the workplace ethical dilemmas created by the increased use of smart technologies. Intentions are clear, however, with a majority targeting up to 10 per cent of their IT budget at this area in the next five years.
"Canadian business leaders are aware of the importance of adopting smart technologies, and are already seeing tangible results, including increased productivity and revenue, as well as the ability to provide a better experience for customers," said Jeff Gilchrist, Corporate Vice President, Avanade Canada. "We know the use of smart technologies is becoming increasingly necessary for organizations to realize results in a digital world, and believe Canadian organizations are steadily making the investments and the necessary steps to truly digitize the workplace."
Find out more about Avanade's perspective on today's digital workplace as well as the full survey results at www.avanade.com/smarttech
About the Global Survey
Avanade's survey was conducted from December 2015 to January 2016 by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com), an independent research firm. It surveyed 500 C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision-makers in the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
About Avanade
Avanade leads in providing innovative digital services, business solutions and design-led experiences for its clients, delivered through the power of people and the Microsoft ecosystem. Our professionals combine technology, business and industry expertise to build and deploy solutions to realize results for clients and their customers. Avanade has 27,000 digitally connected people across 23 countries, bringing clients the best thinking through a collaborative culture that honors diversity and reflects the communities in which we operate. Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Learn more at www.avanade.com.
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