Digital Masters 2020 – COVID-19 Redefining Frontier of Digital Transformation

As IT leaders are aware, cloud systems are essential for digital transformation. That growing awareness is reflected in the surge of public cloud adoption, which grew by about 35% in 2019. But, the advent of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has accelerated enterprise adoption of cloud and hybrid cloud infrastructure. Many companies are now honing their roadmaps for cloud-led digital transformation and have shown clear intent to accelerate investments. As a result, we expect the growth rate of public cloud services to reach 40%-50% in 2020. Additionally, we expect adoption of industry-specific, cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to grow three-fold this year.

This is one of the top findings of Avasant’s new Digital Masters 2020 RadarView^TM report, a comprehensive study of enterprise digital adoption trends across key technologies and the service provider landscape. The report is the culmination of Avasant’s RadarView research program over the past year. The report addresses the need of enterprises to understand the digital transformation imperative and to understand the capabilities of the implementation services providers that are best-suited for complex transformation initiatives. The report also highlights how the COVID-19 outbreak has driven companies to reprioritize their digital investments and redefine client/vendor relationships. It also provides a perspective on market dynamics over the next 12 to 18 months.

Avasant evaluated over 40 providers using three key dimensions: Digital prerequisites, digital convergence, and future centricity. Of the 40-plus providers, we recognize 17 as having brought the most value to the market over the past 12 months and are best-placed for enterprise digital transformation—which we designate as “Digital Masters.”

The RadarView methodology recognizes service providers in four categories:

• • Leaders: Accenture, HCL, IBM, TCS.
  • Innovators: Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro.
  • Disruptors: Atos, Capgemini, DXC, LTI, NTT DATA, Tech Mahindra.
  • Challengers: Mindtree, Mphasis, UST Global, Zensar.

These four categories are illustrated in Figure 1 from the full report:

“The need for digital capabilities has been felt like never before as the COVID-19 pandemic restricts business activities in the physical world,” said Anupam Govil, Avasant Partner and Digital Practice Lead. “Companies that are more digitally mature have been able to overcome the disruptions posed by this crisis and are in a much better position to address the new opportunities coming out of it. As enterprises prepare for the new normal, these innovative service providers can help them accelerate their digital transformation, especially in the areas of hybrid cloud, unified communications, digital workplace, intelligent automation, and cybersecurity.”

“Digital Masters are playing a pivotal role in helping enterprises in these unprecedented times to build resiliency, minimize disruption, protect employees, and better serve customers,” said Avasant Research Leader Saurabh Verma. “As companies emerge from the post-pandemic, many will undertake digital transformation initiatives, and partnering with these Digital Masters will help ensure their success.”

Some of the key findings from the report include:

• • Enterprises worldwide suffered substantial economic and social impact due to COVID-19, from which they may take years to recover.
  • Many enterprises have been forced to make new investments due to COVID-19. Those that were digitally immature and slow to respond to the changing requirements for business continuity are facing an existential threat.
  • Enterprises’ digital investments will accelerate and will continue to grow in the post-COVID-19 era. Several technology areas including hybrid cloud, advanced networks, intelligent automation, cybersecurity and AI will grow at an even faster rate.
  • Digital Masters have helped enterprises in managing disruptions and minimizing their impact. The masters are also creating solutions to help companies recover from the impact in the mid-term and be future-ready in the long term.

The full report also features detailed RadarView profiles of the 17 Digital Masters, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in assisting enterprises in digital transformation.

This Research Byte is a brief overview of the Digital Masters 2020 RadarView^TM report. The full report is available at no charge for Avasant Research subscribers, or it may be purchased by non-subscribers directly from our website (click for pricing).