Survey findings by Squiz, the Australian company powering digital transformation for its clients, revealed the vast majority of business leaders are not ready to adopt mobile, AI, or VR technologies.

65 per cent of Australian business leaders are not prepared or have no plans in place to address either Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Virtual Reality (VR) technology, according to a recent survey of Australian business leaders.

The survey, conducted by Squiz, questioned 150 Australian business directors, owners, and senior managers. Of this pool, only seven per cent of companies are currently using either AI or VR within their business.

Of the 93 per cent who do not currently use either technology, 27 per cent plan to adopt AI and 28 per cent plan to adopt VR within the next 12 months.

When asked to identify the perceived advantages of the emerging technologies, Australian business leaders claimed that AI would help reduce human error (32 per cent) and automate tasks (29 per cent). For VR, the advantages included improving customer experiences (31 per cent) and assisting with marketing and events (29 per cent).

“Most marketing and IT departments have an idea of what they should be doing with digital but they ultimately struggle with the holistic tech outlook that makes digital transformation a reality”, says Cindy Lenferna de la Motte, managing director, Ikabo (a Squiz company).

“There is an immediate need for more user-intuitive websites, stronger mobile presences, and more engaging and useful intranets. However, without a mandate for change set by the CEO, they are usually facing huge internal constraints to successfully going digital in a holistic manner.”

These constraints were evidenced in survey responses, with the biggest concerns businesses had for using AI being the associated expenses (35 per cent) and lack of human control (23 per cent). For VR, expense was also a major concern (43 per cent), along with no imminent need to use the technology in the company (31 per cent).

“You cannot embark on a digital transformation project without a reason and in today’s digital age businesses shouldn’t need to look far for an imperative to be embracing new technologies”, says Lenferna de la Motte.

“By lifting the lid on internal processes and seeing what each and every moving part is doing, businesses can see where emerging technologies could assist, and ultimately benefit their bottom line.”

In the same survey, 56 per cent of business leaders admitted to not having a mobile app or mobile website, despite 65 per cent of respondents believing it to be ‘very’ or ‘somewhat important’ for customers to be able to contact their company via a mobile app. When it comes to investing in mobile customer experience (CX) over the next year, only 28 per cent of respondents are planning to do so.

Despite identifying the biggest drivers for mobile as improved CX (21 per cent), increased audience reach (17 per cent), and more targeted communications (14 per cent), Australian business leaders claim that technical skills (19 per cent), budget (17 per cent), and time (11 per cent) are among the biggest challenges hindering the adoption of mobile to the next level.

“Experimenting with digital technologies carries some risks to business. But with the power these technologies have to shine light on ineffective and unsynchronised functions, businesses can tap into a competitive edge, and become poised to participate in successful innovation”, concludes Lenferna de la Motte.