Unlocking digital advantage in high trust sectors

James Hatch at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence argues that optimising the use of digital technology is an essential part of protecting and enabling society

 

Keeping pace with digital transformation has never been more important. In every sector, the effective use of digital technology and approaches is key to staying ahead of the pack. Organisations look to the power of technology to achieve digital advantage – and to counter the challenges they are facing.

 

Unlocking this advantage is particularly imperative for high trust sectors, which deliver critical value to society, and contribute to the smooth running, physical safety and general freedoms enjoyed by citizens in the UK.

 

This is shown by our recent research, which looks at the challenges faced by IT and business decision-makers within aerospace, government and defence in progressing their digital transformation priorities. Almost all (98%) stated their organisation delivers critical or high value to UK society, while a further 85% cited that accelerating their digital capability is vital to making this happen.

 

However, the vast majority (97%) of high trust organisations are facing significant people, technology and data barriers when it comes to achieving the digital advantage required today. These include a lack of confidence in digital capabilities, obstacles around handling highly classified data and the challenge of attracting and retaining the right STEM talent to get ahead of the competition.

 

In fact, high trust sectors face the double challenge of overcoming these barriers to accelerate their advantage, while continuing to deliver critical value to society. They cannot risk failing in the same way a start-up can; the cost of trying something and failing fast is too great.

 

So how can high trust organisations achieve the levels of digital maturity they need?

 

Why digital advantage is so important for high trust sectors

The last few years have been the most disruptive in many of the global population’s lived memories. External factors such as Brexit, COVID and climate change have accelerated demand for digital transformation across the globe. And the continuing rise of cyber crime reminds us of the role nations have to play in tackling vulnerabilities and staying ahead of our adversaries. 

 

In today’s complex, hyper-connected world, achieving a digital advantage is not merely a ‘nice to have’ for organisations operating in aerospace, government and defence. Rather, it is mission critical to protecting and advancing UK society, and to maintaining the public’s trust.

 

Digital technology and practices can improve organisational speed, efficiency, productivity & agility and ultimately national competitiveness. Under-delivering on this opportunity would have serious consequences including increased vulnerability to adversaries, slower innovation and a reduced ability to protect and serve democracy.

 

Uncovering the barriers to digital transformation

However, unlocking a digital advantage is easier said than done for organisations operating in these sectors – with a number of people, technology and data barriers standing in the way.

 

Over the past few years, workforce challenges have increasingly hindered growth and innovation. Following the pandemic and the Great Resignation, competition for talent is extremely high. According to a recent Gartner survey, only 29% of global IT workers have “high intent” to stay in their roles, and it has never been harder or more expensive to hire new people.

 

At the same time, it is really difficult to change the culture of an established organisation to be more amenable to digital practices and innovation. High trust sectors will need a greater focus on change management and internal communications around digital transformation.

 

Keeping up with digital technologies and approaches can also be challenging, along with hesitations around embracing technology designed for more commercial applications. High trust organisations are dealing with extremely sensitive data on a daily basis, and maintaining security is non-negotiable. In fact, concerns over the security of new technology are cited as the leading barrier to adoption (37%).

 

Then there are the data barriers to consider. Being unable to move data easily from one environment to another (39%) and ensuring compliance with data regulation (38%) are some of the biggest barriers faced by organisations operating in aerospace, government and defence. Using data ineffectively will impede their ability to effectively understand and solve challenges within UK society.

 

Driving digital change from the heart of an organisation

While there are clearly a number of barriers to overcome, there are also tangible solutions for high trust organisations looking to achieve digital maturity. Respondents from aerospace, government and defence identified greater access to STEM talent, the more intelligent use of data, cross-sector collaboration and more clearly defined strategies as key ways to break down the barriers they are facing and unlock the nation’s wider digital advantage.

 

There has been good progress on digital transformation at the edge of organisations, particularly in delivering online public services. We now need to bring this experience to the mission of transforming the core where experimentation and change are more difficult. This will take continuous and enduring effort as we steadily increase the pace of change to deliver advantage from the heart of organisations while controlling risk to critical national services.

 

At BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, we collaborate with industry, SMEs and allies internationally weaving digital threads between data, people and processes to achieve digital advantage in the most challenging of situations.

 

The stakes are particularly serious for high trust organisations looking to transform, but the majority of respondents (83%) agree the reward in doing so is worth it. In short, unlocking a digital advantage will lead to a richer and safer society and increased global influence.

 

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James Hatch is Chief Digital Officer at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com