U.S. Enterprises Rocked by COVID-19 Accelerate Digital Transformation to Prepare for a New Future

Rhea-AI Summary

ISG Provider Lens™ report reveals that the drive for digital transformation among U.S. enterprises is stronger than current economic challenges exacerbated by COVID-19. The report highlights that while spending on managed services decreased, investments in digital solutions surged, allowing companies to adapt rapidly to new conditions. Major players such as Accenture, IBM, and Wipro are identified as leaders across multiple service categories. The increased focus on technologies like AI, blockchain, and cloud solutions reflects a shift towards improving resilience and operational efficiency.

Positive

• Digital transformation investments surged despite a decrease in managed services spending.
• Accelerated adaptation to digital solutions enables faster recovery from crises.
• Key players recognized as leaders in five quadrants indicate competitive strength.

Negative

• Managed services spending fell in Q2 2020 amid the pandemic.

ISG Provider Lens™ report shows drive to improve customer, product and supply chain systems through new technologies is more powerful than current economic headwinds

STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The massive disruptions caused by COVID-19 have played a major role in the growth of digital services in the U.S. this year as enterprises changed their priorities and looked toward a more risky future that will require greater agility, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Business – Solutions and Service Partners report for the U.S. found that although managed services spending fell in the second quarter as the pandemic took hold, enterprises continued to invest in ongoing digital transformation efforts this year and even accelerated them to adapt to the new conditions.

“Projects that were supposed to take two years were compressed into two months,” said Jan Erik Aase, director and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Companies know that digital transformation can help them respond to disruptions, whether they are caused by health crises, political uncertainty or market fluctuations.”

The pandemic has caused many enterprises to shift their focus from growth to sustainability and cost-cutting, as well as to technologies such as remote collaboration for the new reality of work, the report says. The drive to adopt digital business solutions is more powerful than the macroeconomic challenges that companies are currently facing, and enterprises that have already embarked on this transformation journey may recover from the current crisis more quickly, ISG says.

U.S. enterprises have begun concerted efforts to reimagine the experiences of customers, employees and suppliers amid changing market dynamics and working conditions, the report says.

Reinventing business operations through digital transformation became a high priority for top executives during the crisis. Companies increasingly are running workloads in the cloud through software-defined infrastructure and leveraging new developments in automation, AI and cognitive technologies. Digital business service partners are helping companies carry out this transformation using Agile, Lean, DevOps and other methodologies in place of traditional waterfall development.

Digital consulting providers are now helping companies prepare to take advantage of opportunities that arise out of the crisis, offering services such as digital strategy design, organizational change management and process automation, ISG says. While digital transformation gives enterprises the agility to quickly respond to crises such as COVID-19, it can also provide the infrastructure to develop more advanced products and services and bring them to market faster and more effectively.

Many manufacturers and suppliers are now considering digital transformation of their supply chains to adapt to the changes wrought by the pandemic this year. After once looking at new technologies such as blockchain, IoT, AI, analytics and robotics as ways to make supply chains more efficient, companies now see them as tools to improve resiliency, the report says.

Blockchain adoption has grown amid the disruptions, with many early projects and use cases going from proofs of concept to production, ISG says. Gains in data access, trust and security make this technology attractive in the financial services sector as well as for the supply chain and other areas. Blockchain projects have relatively low costs and a short path to production of about 24 to 32 months, and providers are offering services to design and develop blockchain applications and manage them after deployment, the report says.

The 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Business – Solutions and Service Partners report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 48 providers across five quadrants: Digital Business Consulting Services, Digital Customer Experience Services, Digital Product Life Cycle Services, Blockchain Services and Digital Supply Chain Transformation Services.

The report names Accenture, HCL, IBM and Wipro as leaders in all five quadrants. Cognizant and Infosys are named leaders in four quadrants, TCS and Tech Mahindra in three quadrants, and Hexaware and LTI in two. The report names BCG, Capgemini, Deloitte, EY, Mindtree, Publicis Sapient and PwC each as leaders in one quadrant.

In addition, Birlasoft and Capgemini each are named as “Rising Stars”—companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition—in two quadrants. Bain & Co., Cognizant, GlobalLogic, Infosys and Mindtree are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant.

Customized versions of the report are available from Hexaware and LTI.

The 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Business – Solutions and Service Partners report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage. 

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe and Latin America, as well as in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

Starting this year, each ISG Provider Lens™ study will include a Global Summary to help enterprise subscribers better understand provider capabilities across all geographic markets covered by that study. All ISG Provider Lens™ reports also will now include an Enterprise Context feature to help executives quickly identify key insights related to their roles and responsibilities.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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FAQ

What did the ISG Provider Lens report reveal about U.S. enterprises' digital transformation efforts in 2020?

The ISG Provider Lens report indicated a strong push towards digital transformation among U.S. enterprises, overshadowing the economic challenges posed by COVID-19.

Which companies were named as leaders in the ISG Provider Lens report for digital business solutions?

Accenture, HCL, IBM, and Wipro were recognized as leaders across all five quadrants in the ISG Provider Lens report.

How did COVID-19 impact spending on managed services according to the ISG report?

The ISG report noted a decrease in managed services spending during the second quarter of 2020 due to the pandemic.

What technologies are companies focusing on for digital transformation as mentioned in the ISG report?

The report mentions a focus on AI, blockchain, cloud solutions, and automation technologies for digital transformation.

What is the significance of blockchain adoption highlighted in the ISG Provider Lens report?

Blockchain adoption has increased among enterprises as it is seen as a tool for improving resiliency, with a quicker path to production compared to other technologies.