Only 40% of companies succeed in DX…Japan’s weaknesses pointed out by PwC consultants

With DX (digital transformation)Only 41% of companies are achieving the expected results──. The following data was revealed in the “2024 DX Awareness Survey” conducted by PwC Consulting.

In its DX Report, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says, “If we continue to use existing systems that have become complicated and black boxes, and DX does not progress by 2025, there is a possibility that economic losses of up to 12 trillion yen a year will occur.” With the “2025 cliff” just around the corner, he says that in order to succeed in corporate DX, it is necessary to have a “how perspective” that changes existing methods such as agile development. We interviewed a PwC reporter.

The company surveyed 500 people at the manager level and above, mainly client companies, at companies with sales of 50 billion yen or more.

Regarding the results of DX initiatives, only 41% of respondents answered that “results are meeting or exceeding expectations.” More than half of them are not showing the expected results from DX.

According to the company, DX success stories include:“Successful development of digital human resources” “In-house system production” “Agile development”There are three common denominators, and these virtuous cycles are creating an environment that will further accelerate DX.

According to the company’s survey, the main barriers to developing digital human resources are “being too busy with daily work and having no time for training” (19%) and “lack of practical opportunities” (16%). I understand.

In contrast, companies with success stories in developing digital human resources”It can be inferred that by bringing system development in-house using agile methods and increasing opportunities for practical implementation, it is ultimately leading to the development of digital human resources.”(PwC Consulting representative).

We also found that successful DX companies have introduced internal processes and regulations suitable for agile development, and that the DX promotion organization, business departments, and IT departments are working together to proactively automate the system. .

“By proactively implementing automation using the latest technology, we can free up time to develop digital human resources and steadily develop digital human resources by shifting to areas with high added value. By collaborating with human resources, we can resolve business issues. We are quickly resolving the issue and steadily achieving results with DX. By sharing the factors behind our success, human resource development is accelerated, creating a virtuous cycle that improves DX results.” (PwC Consulting Representative)

The secret to DX success learned from case studies

Based on these success stories, PwC Consulting offers solutions such as “transitioning from a functional organization to a service-oriented organization,” “applying agile thinking to organizational management,” “building a digital platform,” and “improving the digital literacy of the entire company by promoting in-house production.” ── ofFour recommendations to companiesdo.

Among these, in the transition to a service-oriented organization, the walls between organizations are eliminated by putting business departments and development departments into the same team for each service provided to users (customers), and the organization is organized based on the same KPI standards. We recommend that it be operated.

In the traditional functional organization that many companies employ, different departments, such as the IT department and the business department, have different KPIs, so there are often walls that make it seem like they are separate companies even though they are within the same company. Director Suzuki Nao, who was in charge of the investigation,”Functional organizations increase communication costs and slow down response to market changes and decision-making speed.”points out.

Hiroyuki Nakayama, an executive officer who was also in charge of the survey, said, “In a functional organization, the number of meetings is large because the organization is subdivided.10 people participate in one meeting, and only 2 to 3 people speak. In some cases, this leaves no time for human resource development.” “By streamlining the organization on a service-by-service basis and proceeding with the transfer of authority such as approval, we will review meeting participants.It is desirable to proceed with the transition in stages while redefining the roles of business departments and DX promotion departments.” did.

Some client companies areBy reviewing the number of meetings and approval processes, we will increase the time spent on human resource development, which used to be only 10% of the overall work, to 40%.There are cases where this has been possible.

How about applying agile to organizational management?

Director Suzuki says that an important element in promoting agile is for the entire team to understand issues in real time.transparency” and continually improve based on feedback from members and stakeholders.adaptation” and“Agile is an effective method for DX, where it is difficult to define a clear goal image at the initial stage.”I emphasize.

In order to advance agile, it is essential to change internal regulations and processes. In fact, in many companies, quality personnel check documents for each process such as requirements definition and testing, and budgets are compiled once a year for each project to ensure that schedules and budgets are met. In some cases, the premise is a contract in which an external vendor is responsible for completing the development.

These can be resolved by detecting errors early through test automation, regularly reviewing budgets and plans in response to business changes, and switching to quasi-contract contracts in which the ordering party is responsible for completion, allowing for flexible development.”Company policies and processes need to be redefined to suit agile development.”(Director Suzuki).

In addition, in order to “increase the productivity of development work in a highly secure environment,” we are developing a strategy that separates “building a digital platform” using cloud services such as SaaS, training human resources who will lead DX, and improving overall digital literacy. It is recommended that it be erected.

“Current DX discussions often focus only on “changing what we do” in terms of how to apply digital technology to business operations.To realize true DX, we need to improve agile and the engineering skills of business departments. It is also important to “change the way we do things,” such as improving.” (Director Suzuki)