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Leaders In The Digital Economy Digital leaders are defining the future, but what defines them? Equinix Insight
Leaders In TheDigital EconomyDigital leaders are defining the future, but what defines them?
Equinix Insight
2 © 2021 EQUINIX, INC.
3 INTRODUCTION
8 TALENT
13 INFRASTRUCTURE
19 PARTNERSHIPS
21 DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
23 TRANSFORMATION
26 LEADERSHIP
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Table of contents
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Many companies contribute to the digital economy, but the leaders power it.
These are the businesses whose products and services have transformed entire industries, altered modern life, and fueled a vast marketplace that now accounts for a quarter of global GDP. They are among the most successful companies the world has ever seen, and not surprisingly, they’ve set a standard that other organizations strive to emulate.
Introduction
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What sets digital leaders apart — aside from their market dominance, influence and sky-high valuations? What are the principles and practices that underlie those achievements and might offer concrete lessons for other companies to follow?
To emulate success, you have to understand its causes
Equinix wanted to know, so we launched an in-depth study to find out. Over the course of several months, we compared hundreds of companies, using a combination of secondary and primary research and quantitative and qualitative techniques to determine what separates the leaders from the rest of the pack.
We learned that digital leaders really are different in several fundamental ways. Specifically, we found six key areas where digital leaders are distinct from other companies investing in digital:
In this report, we’ll share some of our major findings and provide insights into the drivers of digital success.
Talent
Infrastructure
Partnerships
Definition of success
Transformation
Leadership
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SURVEY RESPONDENTS
28%54%
3%
1%
2%
8%
The strongest representation of survey respondents came from North America (54%) and Europe (28%).
282completed surveys
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SURVEY RESPONDENTS BY ROLES AND TITLES
A
A
BBCD
E
FG
H
BC
DEF
G
H
K
M O
I
JK
L
M O
41%42%42%44%
15%16%
Decision-makers
LeadershipTeam
Influencers
Digital leaders (companies on the Forbes Digitally Leading 100 + top digitally leading private entities)
Digital followers (companies that invest in digital with lesser impact)
*One-fourth of the world’s 125 digitally leading companies responded
A.
B.C.
D.
E.F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
IT SVP/VP/Director
CEO
FunctionalLead
BusinessUnit Lead
Project Lead
Other C-SuiteExecutive
Senior ITManager
Chief Digital
Chief Technology
Chief Information
Chief Digital Trans-
Chief Operating
Cloud/InfrastructureArchitect
Digital NetworkLead
Principal CloudEngineer
8
2
1
3
3
1
7
3
2
1
1
57
33
29
20
19
21
12
11
13
10
7
7
5
4
2
32 250Respondents
RolesDigital
leadersDigital
followers
*
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Talent
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Digital leaders are more aggressive in overcoming talent constraints
TALENT
Skilled employees have become a precious commodity in recent years, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for talent—particularly tech talent—is outstripping supply, and the best candidates are getting increasingly choosy about where they work. As a result, talent constraints are a growing problem.
In fact, 96% of our survey respondents indicated they were talent-constrained to some degree, though the situation was much more severe for digital followers. Three-fourths reported that they were “extremely” resource constrained, compared to only one-third of the digital leaders.
96%
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Digital leaders takemore action
TALENT
While both groups face staffing challenges, digital leaders take action. In our survey they were 2.5x as likely to describe themselves as “very aggressive” in addressing talent constraints.
We have tried some new things here and there, but we should be
doing so much more
SOMEWHAT
53%
42%
No, we are far behind where we need to be
NOT VERY
13%
28%
Yes, we are very aggressive in this area
VERY
45%
18%Digital leaders
Digital followers
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Five actions digital leaders take to overcome talent constraints
TALENT
Personal wellness programs/benefitsFostering well-being and quality of life
Training and upskillingDeveloping in-house competencies
Referral bonusesTapping employee networks to improve recruiting
OffshoringHiring top talent across the globe
Investments in work automationHelping employees work smarter
Actions taken by digital leaders include a wide range of strategies and tactics such as talent acquisition, training and development, retention and incentives. Interestingly, compensation was relatively low on the list.
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What we’re finding is that you can bring in college kids and one- to two-year IT professionals who have the right mindset and attitude. There’s a tremendous opportunity for training. We find the hardest thing to do is to reskill somebody who has been in the industry for a long time.”
SVP of Cloud ServicesFortune 500 Financial Firm
“
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Infrastructure
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While the majority of all survey respondents (87%) agree that an optimized digital infrastructure is essential for creating competitive advantage, digital leaders value it more.
Digital leaders place greater importance on infrastructure
INFRASTRUCTURE
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Digital leaders see infrastructure as critical to a range of company priorities
INFRASTRUCTURE
Global operations
Innovation
Operational efficiency, scale, and agility
Cost/performance balance
Business agilityEnhanced customer experience Digital leaders are less
concerned about cost and more likely to prioritize optimization as a strategic imperative.
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In particular, digital leaders are more likely to single out cloud computing, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), machine learning/artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing as areas vital to their company.
Digital leaders highly value the solutions enabled by digital infrastructure
INFRASTRUCTURE
Solution areas enabled by digital infrastructure
Machine learning/AI
Edge computing
Cloud computing/IaaS
IoT
DevOps automation
Big data
Managed and professional services
Cost optimization
Application/content acceleration
Migration to colocation
Network optimization
Workload orchestration
Availability/disaster recovery
Top three areas of focus fordigital leaders
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They’re more likely to view investment in digital infrastructure as a revenue stream generator, as opposed to a cost center.
Digital leaders also have a more bullish take on infrastructure spending
INFRASTRUCTURE
of digital leaders agree/strongly agree
56%
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If you have been able to build your IT footprint in a digital way, with an optimal digital strategy that impacted the user experience, that’s a great competitive advantage. When I click on a website and I get the response in less than five milliseconds and another competitor gets the response in 15 milliseconds, that’s a big difference.”
Chief Technology OfficerMultinational IT Services Company
“
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Partnerships
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Digital leaders see partnerships as essential
PARTNERSHIPS
Digital leaders are far more likely than digital followers to view technology partners and ecosystems as a fundamental component of their business. Digital followers, on the other hand, are far more likely to see partnerships as a secondary and supplemental factor.
Digital leaders indicate that their reliance on partnerships is likely to increase in coming years. Nearly 40%—versus only 13% of the control group—anticipate that their ecosystems will grow to 20 partners or more over the next three to five years.
40%
13%Digital leaders
Digital followers
20 © 2021 EQUINIX, INC.
Definition of Success
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Digital leaders definesuccess differently
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
Compared to their counterparts in the control group, digital leaders are more likely to focus on long-term success than on quarterly earnings. By their own description, they keep their eyes on the prize while protecting key digital investments from quarterly earning pressures.
Digital leaders are less likely to be deterred by temporary setbacks while pursuing the ultimate objectives.
4x more likely to reframe failure as vital to success
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Transformation
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Digital leaders view culture as critical
TRANSFORMATION
Digital leaders see company culture as an indispensable component of their overall business strategy, and they are far more likely to take action accordingly. They make bigger investments in cultural change as part of their transformation initiatives.
While both digital leaders and followers state that their digital business efforts address cultural transformation, nearly 40% of followers indicate that no real action is taken, while nearly 80% of leaders are investing significant resources to drive cultural change.
40% 80%
Digital leaders
Digital followers
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How the management views itself and how they pass on that vision to employees is a company’s culture. Without a digital mindset, you cannot spread that vision to your customers. You are making money by selling products or services, so you’ve got to believe in those ideas and your own digital journey.”Enterprise ArchitectFortune 500 Enterprise Software Company
“
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Leadership
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Digital leaders lead differently
LEADERSHIP
The factors that distinguish top digital companies stem from differences in leadership. Compared to their counterparts in the control group, leaders of top digital companies are much more likely to:
Invest in people and culture to gain competitive advantage
De-emphasize hierarchy in favor of a flat organizational structure
View digital infrastructure as a revenue generator
Give key teams and individuals increased access to leadership
Make digital infrastructure a C-suite priority
Focus on long-term goals over day-to-day or quarterly fluctuations
27 © 2021 EQUINIX, INC.
SUMMARY
As a whole,digital leaders:
See partnerships as essential
Define success differently
Do more to overcome talent constraints
Place more value on infrastructure Our research has identified
key points of difference between companies leading the way in our digital world and everyone else investing in digital, demonstrating that digital leaders take decisive action to achieve their aims.
View culture as critical
Lead differently
28 © 2021 EQUINIX, INC. EB_Leaders in the Digital Economy_EN | 18250 - 16964 | v100521 | Q221
About EquinixEquinix is the world’s digital infrastructure company™. Digital leaders harness our trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the foundational infrastructure that powers their success.
Ready to get started?Digital leaders who have applied these principles and practices have gained a decisive advantage.
Want to build your own digital advantage? Learn how to optimize your foundational infrastructure to transform your business through self-service and on-demand capabilities to meet today’s demands and capture tomorrow’s opportunities.
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