Data and technology are at the heart of CEO investment plans
The international audit and consultancy company EY (Ernst & Young) announced the results of the 2021 CEO Survey prepared through the opinions of CEOs in Forbes Global 2000, where the world’s largest publicly traded companies are listed. According to the research that reveals 305 leaders’ forecasts and growth strategies regarding the business world; 68% of CEOs plan to make large-scale investments in data and technology over the next 12 months. 61% of CEOs aim to initiate a company-wide transformation program in the same period, while 42% aim to change the company’s risk management processes. In the research; it is also seen that transformations focused on digitalization and including radical changes in business models have moved to the top of the agenda of CEOs with the effect of the pandemic. However, 68% of CEOs also emphasize that people, new talent acquisition and corporate culture are at the center of transformation projects. It is also emphasized that issues related to data security and personal data regulations will affect the growth performance of companies. Only 34% of CEOs state that they trust their organizations with their customers’ data. This shows that corporate senior management should review the processes related to data collection, management and use of data and strengthen transparency.
According to the research, it is emphasized that if steps are not taken in this regard, the innovations brought by data technologies will not sufficiently be beneficial and transformation efforts may be negatively affected. While 91% of CEOs think that new business models to be implemented in the next five years will include more circular economy elements, 81% believe that a global standard will be established in measuring and reporting long-term value. 80% of CEOs are planning to take new and comprehensive steps in the field of environmental, social and governance (ESG). EY Turkey Consultancy Services Department Head Gökhan Gümüşlü evaluated the results of the research as:
“Technology has been the most important factor supporting the resilience and flexibility of companies during the pandemic period. We have observed that organizations operating with traditional business models quickly adapted to new digital technologies in this period. We see that hybrid business models are increasingly adopted. We anticipate that companies will speed up their technology investments that will strengthen their risk management.”
