Many companies still lagging in technology adoption

A study carried out jointly by Forbes Magazine's research branch and IT consulting company Wipro shows that nearly two thirds of consumer goods company executives admit their enterprises could do more to catch up on the latest technological trends and apply them to their businesses. For the study, which was published on Monday with the title The Race Is On: Keeping Pace with Consumer Goods Leaders in Digital Marketing and Technology125 C-level execs from American, Asian and European companies were questioned on their tech practices.

65 percent of respondents said that their companies need to do more to improve their marketing strategies by using technology, and 61 percent similarly agreed that they could better use marketing data to improve their management logistics. One major finding of the study is the fragmentation that is preventing companies from maximizing the benefit they obtain from technology. Half of executives say their digital marketing strategies have failed to integrate with "essential back-end processes," and 42 percent admit that having digital marketing or e-commerce as separate departments within the company contributes to this lack of a unified approach.

While larger companies reported greater fragmentation issues, the study shows that companies of all sizes have similar problems with outdated technological practices, and only 20 percent identify their own businesses as effectively using technology to improve overall operations. This goes to show that businesses are often slow to adapt to the latest trends, but there is no reason for this situation to continue.

IT consultants are readily available to help businesses get up to date with the newest technology, which can be a vital element for any company to thrive. In an age when many consumers are more tech-savvy than the companies they do business with, technology planning becomes an essential part of an enterprise's road to success.