Almost all the CIOs feel under pressure to deliver improved customer experience. Customers expect the businesses to respond with high speed and consistency whether they are interacting using email, SMS, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp Business.
However, 52% of CIOs are unable to deliver a connected experience across their business systems and other communication channels, according to a recent report by IMImobile. 92% of them find it challenging to integrate new communication channels with legacy IT systems.
When it comes to providing a smooth customer experience, the top three major barriers cited by CIOs were Data being spread across multiple systems (51%), legacy IT systems (51%), and budget constraints (42%).
Out of all, the finance (67%) and retail (61%) sectors were specifically held back by the legacy systems problem. Such limitations are preventing the organizations from rushing ahead in the market, bringing new products, and expanding their services to the customers on latest platforms.
“It is widely known that the ability to innovate and improve customer communications can make or break a business. Worryingly, the research lays bare the gap between the experience customers now expect, and what businesses are currently able to provide,” said Aseem Sadana, EVP at IMImobile.
“The challenge is that delivering a great customer experience is easier said than done. This is especially the case for large consumer-facing enterprises, where fragmented, legacy IT environments make integrating new communications channels and processes very complex. Many of them also have data that is spread across multiple systems, with programmes and processes varying from department to department. CIOs must consider a centralised platform approach to orchestrate and automate communications across existing business systems and communications channels,” he added.
The changes in technology undoubtedly create a ripple effect over the entire organization. Thus, CIOs are taking necessary steps to overcome these barriers. One of such steps is moving to a platform-oriented approach. This will support businesses with a unified view and allow them to work towards digitizing their customer experience.
Adopting an automation platform would transform the businesses and help them to achieve digital transformation.
To download the report, click here.
READ NEXT: CIOs in Australia and New Zealand slow-moving towards digital business transformation: Gartner
