Initiatives for Digital Transformation are at front and center of every major corporation to keep their business competitive and relevant. Many technology research organizations are publishing papers about different aspects of digital transformation, which is categorized  as a new industrial revolution.

A report from McKinsey Global Institute showed how companies, leading in digital transformation, are reaping benefits right now and in the near future. The latest report from IDC, sponsored by Verizon, shows how different organizations are making progress (or not) in their digital journey. This report also shows how major obstacles are slowing this progress.

Security, along with inability of networks to keep pace with the fast speed required for digital transformation journey, is a major concern for technology leaders.

Major findings of this report are as follows:

• More than half of technology leaders say that security is a major concern (56%)
• A vast majority who believe they are lagging behind in digital transformation have concerns about network performance (82%)
• Close to half have issues figuring out which technologies will bring better ROI and which partners to choose (48%)

An infographic “why digital transformations fail” is a great summary of this latest study. Overall, majority of firms believe that they are behind the curve when it comes to digital transformation of their business. Security and network are their two major areas of investment for 2017. Early starters on this journey have an advantage where they feel better about the basics and are now moving towards higher level business objectives like improving customer experience through better analytics, IoT, and communications technologies.

In the age of digital, speed is key to get competitive edge over other firms. Network and security are foundations for this journey and are the foundation to realize return on investment in this new phase of technology revolution.