Investments in a combination of digital technologies help in enhancing productivity as well as profit of corporates more than putting money in technologies separately, says a WEF report.
Robotics, mobile and social media, the internet of things, artificial intelligence and big data analytics are part of digital technologies.
According to the report --'Maximizing Return on Digital Investments' by the World Economic Forum, overall, investments in digital technologies are leading to an increase in productivity and EBITDA for a majority of companies.
EBIDTA is essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization added back to it and usually analyse and compare profitability among companies.
The report found that such gains are not evenly distributed. The growth associated with these investments is currently driven by the top 20 per cent of companies (by productivity) within each industry sector.
Without broader implementation, an industry inequality could emerge, creating a small group of highly productive industry leaders and leaving the rest of the economy behind. SMEs in particular, often the driver of national economies, could suffer from competitive disadvantages.
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The report, in collaboration with Accenture, is based on a survey of over 16,000 companies from 14 industries between 2015 and 2016. It has quantified the business impact of digital technologies and identified key factors that influence the return on investment.
"...investment in a combination of cognitive technologies, the internet of things, robotics and mobile/social media deliver on average three times the return on investment than do investments in any of these technologies individually," it noted.
The report, which aims to help business leaders make informed investments in technology, found considerable variation between industries when it comes to digital investments. On average, heavier industries realise greater returns in productivity.
Chemistry and advanced materials registered the greatest returns, with industry leaders achieving 160 per cent additional EBITDA per employee investing in these technologies and 120 per cent for the remainder of the sector.
The heavier industries have claimed the highest gains from investment in robotics, which is 9o per cent, while mobile and social media provide a 70 per cent return for service-oriented companies.
"Many executives are still unclear how investments in digital technologies impact their growth and productivity," Accenture Strategy Group Chief Executive Mark Knickrehm said.
"Companies need a clear strategic objective and long- term approach to new technology investments, to understand how multiple technologies can contribute to maximize returns," he added.
Agile and digital-savvy leadership; forward-looking skills agenda; ecosystem thinking; strong data infrastructure and warehouse capability; and technology infrastructure readiness are the key enablers that will maximise return on digital investments.
In addition, industry leaders also emphasised that the successful execution of these enablers would require companies to establish clear ownership of the digital transformation, invest in specific use cases and follow an outcome-based approach that is agile and flexible to allow failure at minimal costs.