In 2024, Australian CIOs find themselves at a crossroads. 

Tech modernisation remains a top priority, yet a staggering 72% are grappling with a massive resource shortage.  

The urgency to innovate is noticeable, especially with the rise of AI, where most organisations admit to being underprepared.  

It’s clear that strategic resource allocation and embracing AI are no longer optional but imperative for thriving in this dynamic environment.  

The question is, how can CIOs bridge this resource gap and harness AI’s full potential to drive their organisations forward? 

Introducing ADAPT’s Exponential Value Roadmap (EVR)

ADAPT’s Exponential Value Roadmap (EVR) offers a structured approach to guide organisations from merely “doing enough” to becoming global leaders in innovation and growth.  

Developed over two years, the EVR leverages over 60,000 data points and 950 surveys from around 480 local E&G organisations.  

This dataset includes insights from 400 Australian organisations responsible for 2.9 million employees and $1.23 trillion in combined revenues, representing 21% of the workforce and 66% of the GDP.  

Covering a range of organisation sizes, this comprehensive data ensures the EVR is a practical tool for achieving exponential growth. 

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The 3 Stages of EVR Maturity

The EVR outlines three distinct stages of maturity that organisations progress through as they evolve and mature: 

Stage 1: Modernised IT

This stage represents organisations that have optimised their technology strategies, delivering efficient, reliable, and flexible IT solutions securely and quickly.  

However, these organisations are primarily focused on “doing enough.” 

 

Stage 2: Connected Business

At this stage, organisations become collaborative and digitally savvy, leveraging data, automation, and dashboards for enhanced visibility, value, and customer experiences. 

 

Stage 3: Exponential Enterprise

This is the pinnacle of maturity, where organisations consistently generate sustainable growth and value for all stakeholders.  

Exponential Enterprises are characterised by their ability to innovate, adapt, and thrive in a constantly changing environment. 

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What drives business value?

Business value hinges on the modernity, optimisation, and adoption of your investments to drive value across your organisation, customers, and ecosystem.  

ADAPT’s EVR identifies seven key business maturity and three essential value realisation drivers: 

 

The 3 drivers of value realisation 

ADAPT’s EVR measures how well your organisation creates and captures business value across levers such as new products and services/innovation, operational efficiency, customer experience, cost management, and employee retention. 

  • Value from Customers: Increasing revenue from customers by optimising margins, enhancing customer loyalty, boosting cross-selling, and delivering innovative IP, products, services, and processes.
  • Value from Ecosystem: Creating a go-to destination for the value chain by establishing a value-chain hub, fostering connections, leveraging data, and engaging with industry partners, customers, clients, and citizens.
  • Value from Operations: Reducing cost and increasing speed by enhancing operational efficiency, optimising financial management, and accelerating speed to market. 

 

The 7 drivers of business maturity 

The EVR also measures maturity in these fundamental areas as they impact your organisation’s ability to create value and how well it can be realised: 

  • Strategy: Developing and implementing business strategies that leverage organisational assets in a rapidly changing digital landscape
  • Risk: Maintaining resilience and managing risks across strategy, technology, operations, and value chain management
  • Execution: Enhancing operational effectiveness and optimising resources through technology and data
  • Experience: Optimising stakeholder experiences, including employees, customers, and value-chain partners
  • People: Attracting, developing, and retaining digitally-fit and savvy talent
  • Data: Using data to drive insights and decision-making for business growth
  • Technology: Efficiently adopting and leveraging technology to create and capture value across all business levels 

Together, these elements provide a holistic view of an organisation’s digital capabilities and potential for growth. 

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The challenge of stagnation

While the concept of Exponential growth is enticing, the reality is that many organisations are stuck in the Modernised IT stage.  

Over 60% of Australian and New Zealand businesses are primarily focused on “just doing enough” to maintain their current operations.  

This stagnation can be attributed to various factors, such as a lack of resources, risk aversion, or a focus on short-term gains over long-term growth.  

This focus on modernisation means that many businesses are missing out on the transformative benefits of becoming a Connected Business or an Exponential Enterprise.  

They risk falling behind more digitally mature competitors who are better positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities and navigate market disruptions. 

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Why should you aim to be Exponential?

The benefits of progressing through the EVR stages are substantial and multi-faceted. Exponential Enterprises experience: 

  • Enhanced Innovation: Exponential Enterprises derive a remarkable portion of their revenue from innovation, which includes new IPs, products, or services introduced within the past three years. 

  • Improved Employee and Customer Experience: These organisations create exceptional experiences for both employees and customers, fostering loyalty and driving business growth. 
  • Operational Efficiency: Increased efficiency and reduced friction through automation, digitisation, and modernisation drive profitability and competitive advantage.
  • Enhanced resilience: These organisations are better equipped to manage risks and adapt to change, ensuring long-term sustainability and success. 
  • Higher Net Profit: Organisations at the Exponential stage achieve almost double the net profit compared to those in the Modernised IT stage. 

 

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Where are you on your modernisation journey?

Understanding where your organisation stands on the Exponential Value Roadmap is the first step towards digital transformation.  

ADAPT’s EVR assessment provides a comprehensive view of your current digital maturity, identifying strengths to build upon and areas for improvement. 

By leveraging the insights from an EVR assessment, you can: 

  • Benchmark your organisation against industry peers and high performers 
  • Identify key areas to elevate your business maturity
  • Develop a roadmap for prioritising initiatives and implementing best practices 
  • Measure the impact of your digital transformation efforts over time 

Moreover, the EVR can be a powerful tool for securing buy-in and resources for IT initiatives.  

By providing objective, data-driven insights into your organisation’s digital maturity and potential for growth, you can make a compelling case for investment in transformative technologies and practices. 

 

Divert resources from low to high-impact initiatives 

Making informed decisions about your IT investments is crucial. The EVR empowers you to: 

  • Divert Resources Strategically: Move away from low-impact initiatives that drain valuable resources and focus your investments on high-impact projects that deliver tangible business value.
  • Prevent Costly Mistakes: Avoid making critical errors in judgment when prioritising projects. Use the EVR to identify and champion digitisation initiatives that promise the highest ROI. 

 

Compare the before-and-after of your IT initiatives 

Don’t leave the success of your digital transformation to chance. The EVR provides you with the tools to: 

  • Quantify Your Progress: Accurately measure the results of your digital transformation initiatives and gain a clear understanding of their impact. 
  • Build Momentum: Use the data from your EVR assessment to showcase the positive outcomes of your initiatives, building momentum for future projects and garnering support from stakeholders. 
  • Course Correct: If your results don’t meet expectations, the EVR helps you identify areas for realignment, ensuring your transformation efforts stay on track and deliver the desired results.

 

Earn executive and internal buy-in by quantifying the business value of IT modernisation

Successfully securing executive and internal support for IT initiatives often hinges on demonstrating their tangible business value. The EVR assessment empowers you to:

  • Articulate ROI with Data: Use objective, data-driven insights from the EVR to clearly articulate the return on investment (ROI) of IT modernisation efforts to executives and board members.
  • Build a Compelling Business Case: Leverage the comprehensive analysis provided by the EVR to build a strong, evidence-based business case for prioritising and funding IT initiatives that promise high impact.
  • Align IT with Business Goals: Showcase how IT modernisation aligns with and supports overarching business objectives, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment across departments.

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Start your journey to becoming an Exponential Enterprise

Our team of experts is here to guide you through the EVR assessment process and help you develop a tailored roadmap for exponential growth.  

Discover how the EVR can help you maximise your organisation’s digital transformation journey. 

Book a Discovery Session
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