Digital transformation: Affected and accelerated by COVID-19

97% of enterprise decision makers believe COVID-19 accelerated their company’s digital transformation efforts, according to a Twilio survey of over 2,500 enterprise decision makers.

COVID-19 digital transformation

“Over the last few months, we’ve seen years-long digital transformation roadmaps compressed into days and weeks in order to adapt to the new normal as a result of COVID-19. Our customers in nearly every industry have had to identify new ways to communicate with their customers and stakeholders – from patients, to students, to shoppers, and even employees – essentially overnight,” said Glenn Weinstein, Chief Customer Officer at Twilio.

“Cloud scale, speed, and agility are enabling organizations to innovate faster than ever. We believe the solutions being built today will be the standard for digital engagement in the future.”

COVID-19 was the digital accelerant of the decade

COVID-19 accelerated companies’ digital communications strategy by an average of 6 years. 97% of enterprise decision makers believe the pandemic sped up their company’s digital transformation.

Digital communication is the new lifeblood for business

Almost all companies (95%) are seeking new ways of engaging customers as a result of COVID-19. 92% say transforming digital communications is extremely or very critical to address current business challenges.

Previous inhibitors to innovation have been broken down

79% of respondents say that COVID-19 increased the budget for digital transformation. Companies report easing of barriers such as: lack of clear strategy (37%), getting executive approval (37%), reluctance to replace legacy software (35%), and lack of time (34%).

Omnichannel communication is taking on new importance

92% say their organization is very or somewhat likely to expand digital communication channels as the world reopens. Over half (54%) said COVID-19 propelled focus on omnichannel communications and 53% added new channels amid the pandemic. 1 in 3 companies started using live chat and IVR channels for the first time as a result of COVID-19.

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