While the idea of shifting toward digital business was speculative for most CEOs a few years ago, it has become a reality for many in 2017, according to a recent survey of 388 CEOs by Gartner, Inc.

Forty-seven percent of CEOs are being challenged by the board of directors to make progress in digital business, and 56 percent said that their digital improvements have already improved profits. "CEO understanding of the benefits of a digital business strategy is improving," said Mark Raskino, vice president and Gartner Fellow.

"They are able to describe it more specifically. Although a significant number of CEOs still mention e-commerce or digital marketing, more of them align it to advanced business ideas, such as digital product and service innovation, the Internet of Things , or digital platforms and ecosystems."

CEOs have also progressed in their digital business endeavours. Twenty percent of CEOs are now taking a "digital-first" approach to business change.

"This might mean, for example, creating the first version of a new business process or in the form of a mobile app," said Mr. Raskino.

"Twenty-two percent are taking digital to the core of their enterprise models. That's where the product, service and business model are being changed and the new digital capabilities that support those are becoming core competencies."

Half of CEOs Have No Digital Success Metric

Although more CEOs have digital ambitions, the survey revealed that nearly half of CEOs have no digital transformation success metric. "For those who are quantifying progress, revenue is a top metric: Thirty-three percent of CEOs define and measure their digital revenue," said Mr. Raskino.

CEOs set the success criteria for digital business," added Mr. Raskino. "It starts by remembering that you cannot scale what you do not quantify, and you cannot quantify what you do not define. You should also ask yourself: What is 'digital' for us? What kind of growth do we seek? What's the No. 1 metric and which KPIs must change?"

Gartner conducted a survey of 388 CEOs and senior business leaders in user organisations worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2016 to examine their business issues and some areas of IT technology agenda impact. Most responding organizations were those with annual revenue of $US1 billion.