Several interesting pieces of research were published this week. They included Adobe released its online retail insights for the 2022 holiday season, covering November 1 to December 31. The report provides the most comprehensive view of US eCommerce based on Adobe Analytics data.
Sage partnered with the Centre for Business Economics (CEBR) to publish a substantive report entitled SMBs Driving Economic Recovery Business. It uses historical data to predict how SMBs will drive the economy in the coming years. Enterprise Times also interviewed Ricardo Diniz, Vice President & General Manager Europe, WSO2, about the company’s recent report: A Road to Success Without Compromise: Managing APIs and Identity Effectively (gated).
Accenture
A new Accenture report titled “The race to cloud: Reaching the inflection point to long-sought value” identified companies’ progress in their journey to the cloud. Based on surveys of 800 business leaders in 2018 and 2020, the report identifies the value of cloud investments across cost savings; speed; business enablement; improved service levels; and resilience/business continuity. The report has four major findings:
- Cloud commitment has surged.
- Organizations achieving greater outcomes are the ones further along in their cloud journeys.
- Ambitions expand beyond cost savings as the cloud journey continues with more complexity.
- Stubborn barriers from past years remain, including “security and compliance risks”, “complexity of business and operational change,” and “Legacy application modernization.”
Karthik Narain, global lead of Accenture Cloud First, commented, “Companies have raced to cloud and they see clear value there, but may be encountering harder terrain than they expected.
“Getting the full value potential out of cloud requires a mindset shift — a focus on cloud as a continuous and constantly evolving journey, not a destination. It’s a commitment to continuous reinvention — learning new skills, embracing new technologies, with cloud strategies that optimize operations, accelerate growth and open up new business models.”
Accenture also published the 12th United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study drawing on insights from more than 2,600 CEOs across 128 countries, 18 industries, and over 130 in-depth interviews. The largest study shows CEOs are far more focused on sustainability than ever. 98% of CEOs agree that sustainability is core to their role, a percentage that has increased by 15% over the last ten years.
Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary General, CEO and Executive Director of UN Global Compact commented, “In a world categorized by conflict, energy shortages, rising inflation and the threat of recession, this year’s study shows CEOs do not believe the world is as resilient to crises as we may have hoped.
“Businesses continue to be impacted by multiple shocks. As a result, on a broad range of issues, from runaway climate change to widening social and economic inequalities, business action right now does not match the ambition and pace needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
CEOs also identify a clear need to focus on technology to find solutions to tackle global challenges and drive growth. Leading CEOs are already embedding sustainability into their businesses through launching new products and services for sustainability (63%), enhancing sustainability data collection across their value chains (55%) and investing in renewable energy sources (49%). Nearly half (49%) are transitioning to circular business models, and 40% are increasing R&D funding for sustainable innovation.
Peter Lacy, Accenture’s global Sustainability Services lead and chief responsibility officer, commented, “Not meeting the promise of the SDGs is a real concern but, at the same time, an enormous opportunity for companies that reinvent their enterprises and harness sustainability as one of the key forces of change in the next decade.
“CEOs are clearly concerned about resilience, but one leader’s resilience is another leader’s growth opportunity. New waves of technology investments and breakthrough innovation can put the SDGs back within reach – but only if leaders turn to sustainability for resilience to help create new markets, products and services that can correct the current trajectory and drive growth amid times of disruption.”
Access Group
A recent survey of UK workers by the University of Nottingham commissioned by The Access Group has revealed stark differences between how people felt about their work. The study, titled, A Hybrid Working Nation, How it’s Working Out,” found that 59% of Brits say they’re happy at work, and 41% reported feeling unhappy and depressed.
The report laid bare some of the pros and cons of hybrid working with some stark differences between the generations. The under 20’s ranked lowest for well-being and engagement, 9.7% and 17% lower, respectively, than those in their twenties. Lower-income workers (under £30,000) were less able to work in a hybrid way, only fifth of them compared to 39% of those with higher incomes.
Dr Luis Torres, Assistant Professor in Organisational Behaviour, Business and Society at the Nottingham University Business School, commented: “This study has revealed a very mixed picture for hybrid working, where some groups of workers are thriving and are able to create a good life-work balance, while others are feeling disadvantaged. Hybrid working has a great potential for business, workers, and the environment by reducing commuting time, costs, and carbon emissions.
“However, some workers are feeling more isolated and worry about their career progression. To realise the benefits of hybrid working, businesses need to address these concerns by creating working environments where people can socialise despite the distance and by clearly communicating promotion criteria.”
The survey also highlighted the importance of technology in supporting employees – with 64% saying it helped with productivity and 62% saying it gives them control over their work schedule.
Claire Scott, Chief Employee Success Officer at The Access Group, said, “Technology is key to improving employee experiences for everyone, regardless of where they’re working. It enables them to communicate with colleagues, access information, including learning materials, and get tasks done quicker so they feel valued and satisfied at work.”
Celonis
Celonis published its first sustainability report, which covers the fiscal year 2022 and highlights how the Celonis process mining capabilities are helping other organisations reach global net zero emissions, one process at a time. The report contains both internal and external elements, including:
In its first materiality assessment, the materiality matrix, outlines Celonis’ impact on sustainability matters and vice versa, the information necessary to understand how sustainability matters affect Celonis’ business performance.
- It shares the Celonis’ Net Zero Climate Strategy: Celonis has committed to set near- and long-term science-based targets in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard.
- For DEI, Celonis has invested in 5 active business resource groups (Women & Allies, Pride, Parents, Resilience, and Black), with many more in the pipeline that is preparing to launch in the coming months.
- Shares customer stories of how the Celonis sustainability applications have helped them achieve their goals.
Janina Bauer, Director of Sustainability at Celonis, commented, “Problems are bigger than they have ever been, and we need new perspectives, and new solutions. I am excited to be launching our first Sustainability Report that is laying the groundwork for a more sustainable future, promoting sustainable operations, investing in achieving net-zero and regularly presenting our results in a transparent manner.”
Highspot
HIghspot published its European State of Sales and Marketing Alignment 2022 report. The report is based on a survey of over 750 sales and marketing professionals in the UK, France and Germany. Key findings included
- 43% of sales and marketing professionals agree that sales and marketing teams using separate systems to view and understand prospects and customers is the greatest technology challenge their teams are facing.
- 74% of marketing teams across the UK, France and Germany believe that a lack of alignment between sales and marketing has significantly impacted revenue.
- Up to 70% of content produced by B2B marketing organisations is unused by salespeople.
- 72% of sales and marketing professionals surveyed agreed that implementing sales enablement is something their company should consider soon.
The report highlights the lack of alignment between sales and marketing and some of the issues that need addressing. It also reveals that where alignment exists, there are clear benefits. The report highlights that companies that align sales and marketing teams achieve 24% faster growth rates and 27% faster profit growth.
IRIS Software
The IRIS Software Group (IRIS) research revealed that 60% of parents want to be more involved in their education. The survey of 71,129 primary and secondary school parents in the UK found that 65% feel either ‘not well informed’ or ‘only informed at key points’ about their child’s academic progress. Other findings include:
- Parents of primary and secondary school children are 2.5 times more likely to be satisfied with efforts to engage with them if schools use an app to communicate.
- 88% of parents who say they have a great relationship with their child’s teacher also think the school makes the best use of technology, compared with only 11% of those who say they have a poor relationship.
- Secondary school parents are 80% more likely not to be satisfied with their child’s school’s effort to engage with them than primary school parents.
Simon Freeman, MD for Education, IRIS Software Group, comments, “Parent engagement has a large and positive impact on student learning regardless of social class or ethnicity. Engaged parents accelerate students’ progress. To establish this social contract, parents need to be fully engaged and involved in student learning.
“There is a clear role for technology here. However, the big challenge for schools and Trusts is the fragmented nature of applications that don’t talk to each other. Teachers and parents need one centralised platform from which they can manage all communications in real-time. This will give teachers more capacity to relay critical information to parents to create actionable insights. In turn, parents will feel more informed and engaged and be able to support their children better than ever before.”
SAP
SAP Research has found that the talent crisis threatens ESG initiatives in the travel industry. With 33% of the workforce planning to leave the industry (not just their firm) in the next 12 months, the crisis is far from over. 55% say it will impact travel plans for customers, with 34% believing the challenge will peak in summer 2023, and 21% believe it will continue through to Christmas 2023.
The survey of 401 senior decision makers from within the UK’s airline and rail operators also understands their priorities for addressing the challenge with:
- 34% looking to deliver an optimised supply chain to ensure constant availability of resources and equipment
- 33% seeking a greater understanding of why employees leave and how to retain them.
- 32% are looking to improve and speed up onboarding processes and checks for new hires, particularly for recruiting international talent
The impact on ESG initiatives concerns, with 35% re-allocating resources away from ESG to staffing challenges. The impact on ESG is measurable, with 30% admitting they’re not on track to meet their net-zero target. 29% revealed they’re still not taking immediate action to reduce their environmental footprint. This is ironic, considering that stronger ESG initiatives are often cited as one of the factors that can attract staff.
Dominique Kunze, Head of Telco, Media and Service Industries at SAP, commented, “Travel providers have seen some significant challenges over the past few years, and many have as a result amended or fundamentally changed their business and operating models.
“The pandemic, a strong focus on sustainability and changes in customer behaviour underpinned by digital technologies have been accelerating factors in this transformation of the travel sector. There is now tremendous opportunity to reshape the future, especially for those rail and airline leaders who are willing to take definitive actions and utilise technology to make better informed and more predictable decisions.”
