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Riverbed Survey: Ninety-Three Percent of Manufacturing Decision-Makers Believe They Need to Provide More Advanced Digital Experiences to Remain Competitive as Next Generation Employees Enter the Workforce

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Riverbed, the leader in Unified Observability, announced the Manufacturing industry results of the Riverbed Global Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Survey 2023. The survey found that as organizations recognize the importance of delivering a seamless DEX to attract and retain Millennials and Gen Z digital native employees, Manufacturing companies are empowering CIOs with more resources and a larger presence in the C-suite. Faced with global skills shortages to operate machinery, maintain quality standards, and manage production processes, Manufacturing CIOs and their companies are looking to improve the DEX to ensure competitiveness.

As revealed in the study, 66% of the Manufacturing business and IT decision-makers surveyed say failing to meet the digital experience demands of younger generations would be disruptive. Furthermore, 72% of the Manufacturing respondents believe Millennials and Gen Z employees would consider leaving a company with poor DEX. Attracting and retaining key talent is critical as manufacturers lean into crucial technologies such as the rise of smart factories, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual processes, which will be key competitive differentiators to minimize supply chain challenges and resist economic headwinds.

LinkedIn: Riverbed survey shows ninety-three percent of manufacturing leaders believe they need to provide advanced digital experiences to remain competitive as next generation employees enter workforce: https://rvbd.ly/47Yec2S

The research polled 1,800 global IT decision-makers (ITDMs) and business decision-makers (BDMs) across 10 countries and seven industries, including nearly 350 Manufacturing leaders. The survey explored generational expectations, hybrid work, the evolving role of IT, and challenges and strategies to delivering an exceptional DEX.

Gain Access to the Manufacturing Infographic Here: https://rvbd.ly/47Yec2S

Millennials and Gen Z Employees Have High Digital Expectations

Today, Millennials and Gen Z make up 50% of the workforce, but that number is expected to grow to 70% by 2030. As Millennials and Gen Z workers take more prominent roles within enterprises, 92% of leaders surveyed in the Manufacturing sector say they are feeling increased pressure on IT resources because of higher employee and customer digital experience expectations by younger generations. Ninety-three percent of decision-makers surveyed in Manufacturing believe they will need to provide more advanced digital experiences to meet Millennials’ and Gen Z’s needs as they look to use the most sophisticated technology.

Nearly all IT and business decision-makers surveyed (93%) in Manufacturing say that investing in DEX is among their top priorities for the next 5 years. Underpinning the ability to provide a seamless DEX is Unified Observability, as 95% of the Manufacturing leaders agree Unified Observability is important (52% say critically important) to stay competitive and deliver exceptional DEX.

“With globalization, the manufacturing sector has changed significantly as the competition in domestic and international markets for manufactured goods has intensified,” explains Jim Gargan, CMO, at Riverbed. “Manufacturing today involves higher levels of technology, innovation, and advanced business models and processes, which requires IT to deliver a seamless digital experience for the entire workforce, including digital natives. Our survey found that while nearly all manufacturers are facing at least one major obstacle to delivering on the digital experience, these organizations are investing in technology, including observability and AI, to address these challenges. With the Alluvio Unified Observability suite, our Manufacturing customers are gaining actionable insights and leveraging automation to deliver a better digital experience that leads to greater efficiency, quality and production.”

In this post-pandemic era, the survey also found that 93% of Manufacturing respondents agreed IT is more responsible for driving business innovation now than it was three years ago. During the pandemic, manufacturers’ reliance on technology to provide visibility into their supply chains was a crucial factor in their company’s ability to provide resilience against disruptions. With the importance of delivering solutions that drive the business comes more recognition for IT, with 80% of Manufacturing ITDMs and BDMs acknowledging the increasing relevance of IT within the C-suite.

Critical to providing seamless digital experiences is enabling globally scattered Manufacturing employees to work from anywhere at any time. Manufacturing IT and business decision-makers report that 44% of their employees are working in a hybrid model, and 97% of respondents think offering hybrid work enhances their ability to recruit talent and remain competitive in the future. To ensure the technology meets business needs, 89% of the Manufacturing respondents say they plan to invest in technology over the next 12-18 months to support hybrid work.

Obstacles to Meeting Digital Expectations

Ninety-six percent of IT leaders in this sector identified at least one major obstacle to delivering seamless DEX. Respondents identified lack of IT talent/skills (41%); budget constraints (36%); lack of appropriate SaaS or cloud services (33%); lack of sufficient observability tools (30%); and too much data (28%) as the top obstacles hindering their ability to deliver on the digital employee experience.

Furthermore, Manufacturing IT leaders are struggling to find talent (35%). They also say current personnel lack the skills for their existing jobs (45%) and to meet future requirements. Recognizing the need to upskill team members, 87% of Manufacturing respondents report having set aside a budget to retrain IT staff. The upgrade in skills will help address what IT respondents (89%) said were slow-running systems and applications as well as outdated technology that directly impacts the growth and performance of their organization.

To proactively monitor unpredictable network and application performance, 94% of Manufacturing respondents surveyed say that there must be greater investment in Unified Observability solutions that provide actionable insights for better employee and customer digital experiences. Manufacturing leaders also said these emerging and established technologies will become critical for the business over the next 18 months:

  • Cloud (49%)

  • AI (48%)

  • Automation (41%)

  • Digital Experience Management (DEM) solutions (37%)

  • Application and Network Acceleration technology (34%)

The increased reliance on adopting advanced technologies has created more of an emphasis on DEX, with 51% of Manufacturing leaders saying a seamless digital experience is the most important factor in keeping their dispersed workforce engaged. This surpasses traditional office perks such as happy hours (25%), free coffee in the break room (13%) or company merchandise/giveaways (11%).

The Riverbed Global Digital Employee Experience Survey 2023 polled 1,800 global IT and business decision-makers representing companies with over $250 million in annual revenue across 10 countries. Their industries include FSI, oil and gas, government/public sector, healthcare/pharmaceutical, manufacturing, retail, and professional services. The survey was conducted by Sapio Research in May 2023.

Discover how IT and business decision-makers are approaching the digital employee experience by diving into the full report: riverbed.com/DEXSurvey2023

About Riverbed

Riverbed is the only company with the collective richness of telemetry from network to app to end user, that illuminates and then accelerates every interaction, so organizations can deliver a seamless digital experience and drive enterprise performance. Riverbed offers two industry-leading portfolios: Alluvio by Riverbed, a differentiated Unified Observability portfolio that unifies data, insights, and actions across IT, so customers can deliver seamless, secure digital experiences; and Riverbed Acceleration, providing fast, agile, secure acceleration of any app, over any network, to users anywhere. Together with our thousands of partners, and market-leading customers globally – including 95% of the FORTUNE 100 – we empower every click, every digital experience. Riverbed. Empower the Experience. Learn more at riverbed.com

Riverbed, Alluvio and certain other terms used herein are trademarks of Riverbed Technology LLC. All other trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners.

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