【德勤】2025新技术与新工作范式下企业技术投资评估体系革新报告-Newtech.New worK,Your OId value caseisn't enough

Newtech.Newwork.youroldvaluecaseisn'tenough.

Inaradicallycbangingtecbandworkenvironment,organizationsneedanecalculustoselect,plan,assess,andachievevaluefromteirworkandworkforcetechb

inestmnents

ARTICLEO15-MINREADO24MARCH2025

Decidingwhethertoinvestintechnologyandwhichtechnologiestochooseusedtobearelativelystraightforwardprocessfororganizations.Nolonger.

untilrecently,businesstechnology'srolewasmainlytoautomateorfacilitatework.Themathbehindinvestmentdecisionswassimple:paying$xtopurchaseandimplementanewtechplatformwouldincreaseeffciencybyy%,yieldinga

measurable,predictablereturn.Today,however,manynewtechnologiespromisetoaugmenthumancapabilitiesofferingpotentialthatmayoutweighthepredictabilitydeliveredbypreviousgenerationsoftech.

READMOREFROMTHEREPORT

2025GlobalHumancapitalTrends

Thisevolutionhasledtoamajorshiftinorganizations'mainvaluecasesfortechnologyinvestments.our2025Deloitte

GlobalHumancapitalTrendssurvey(see"Methodology")foundthatthetoptwobusinesscasedriversforinvestinginnewtechnologieswereenablingaworkforcetodomore,fasteranddecreasecost.Respondentssaidthemostimportantdrivers

areenablingworkersandmachinestocreatevaluetogether,enablingtheworkforcetocreatenewtypesofvalue,and

improvingworkerwellbeing·

TheseresponsespresentanewrealitythatcomplicatestheROIequation.Thevaluecaseforthenewtechnologyinvestmentsmustcapturenotjustprocesseffcienciesorasimplesetofinputsandoutputs,butalsothetech'simpactonlesseasily

measurableresultstraditionallyassociatedwithhumancapabilities,suchasinnovation,waysofworking,andhuman

performanceandoutcomes.Thevaluecasealsoneedstoaccountforadditionalinvestmentsorchangesnecessarytorealizethetechnology'spromise.

Inthefaceofachangingtechandworklandscapewithamyriadofnewworkandworkforcetechnologiesemergingdaily,leaderslikelyneedanewcalculustoidentifythemetrics,approaches,andgovernanceneededtocreateavaluecasethatwillrealizehumanandbusinessoutcomes.

Inshort,theyneedanewvaluecasefortech.

Newtech+newworknewvaluecase

Leadersareinanewnormal·Insteadofafewcoretechnologiestochoosefrom,theyarefacedwithhundreds.Insteadofahandfulofusecases,theyarepresentedwithdozensofteninthesameplatform,withoverlappingusecasesacrossthe

board.Insteadofsinglefunctionalstakeholdersandownersoftechnology,techisnowownedacrossmultiplefunctionsandstakeholders.Andperhapsmostimportantly,manyemergingtechnologiesnowenableorganizationstocreatealtogethernewwaysofworking,insteadofjustenablingexistingprocessestobedonefasterorcheaper(figure1).

Figure1

workandworkforcetechvaluecases

Inthepast

Nowandinthefuture

Fourtofivetechplayers

Hundredsoftechplayers

Twotothreeusecases

Dozensofusecases

Roldrivenbyautomation,laborsavings

Roldrivenbyawiderangeofmetrics

platform/ERP-driven

Ecosystemoftechoptions

Enablesexistingoperationsandprocess

Enablesnewwaysofworking

singlefunctionalowner/stakeholder

Multiplecross-functionalowners/stakeholders

source:Deloitteanalysis.

Deloitte

nsghts·deloite.com/insights

Thischaneishappenineverywhere.arSsalltypesftechnliesFr.ururses·wearefcusedspecicallyn

andworkforcetechnologies.

worktechincludestechnologiesservingasproductivity,augmentation,andcollaborationtools.Thesearetechnologiesweusetodoourwork(e·g·,spreadsheets,email,socialcollaborationtools,medicaldiagnostictools,navigationtools,etc.)andnewarticialintelligencetechnologiesinwhichpeopleandsmartmachinesworktogether.

workforcetechincludesadizzyingarrayofsystemsthathelporganizationsmanage,grow,anddeveloptheirworkforces(fgure2).

Leaderstodaymustorganizeandorchestratenewtechnologiesinaworldwheretraditionalboundariesbetweenthemare

fallingaway.sixty-twopercentofrespondentstooursurveysaythisiscriticallyimportanttotheirorganizationalsuccess,yetonly28%aredoingsomethingmeaningfulaboutit(fgure3).

Sowhat'sholdingthemback?

HRandITleadersrarelyhavebeenpressedtoconsiderSomanyshinynewobjects.Theyhavethetantalizingsensethat

certaintechnologicaladvancements,particularlyvariousmanifestationsofAI,couldunlockenormousvalueiftheycould

justfigureoutwhichones,gainenoughclarityaboutthevaluetoarticulateitinacompellingbusinesscase,andimplementiteffectively.

yetorganizationsmaybejadedafterwatchingpreviousinvestmentsintechstacksfallshortofexpectationsandfailtorealizeexpectedROI.Infact,oneDeloittestudyfoundthatonly50%to75%oforganizationsbelievetheyaregettingvalueoutofthemajortechinvestments,suchasenterpriseresourceplanning,dataarchitecture,andcloudplatforms,andtraditionalandgenerativeAI.

Basedonthesechallenges,leadersarefacedwithdifficultquestions,suchas:

.MYteamsaysthistechwillbegame-changingbuthowdoImakeabusinesscasewhenthebeneftsarehardtoquantify?

.wehaveSomanytoolsalready.Dowereallyneedanewoneorwillitjustcauseconfusionandfrustration?

·willthistechnologycreatelastingvalueforourbusinessandourpeopleorisitjustthelatestshinynewobject?

.shouldweinvestinnewtechorhopeourcloudplatformproviderseventuallyincorporatethefunctionalityandhowdoIassessthecostofinvestingversuswaiting?

Thesequestionsdemonstratethatsomeleadersareoverwhelmedbytheiroptionsandhesitantafterpreviousdisappointmentsthatmayleadthemtofeelingparalyzed.

Alternatively,leadersmayfeelpressuretoactevenintheabsenceofcleargals,arealisticappraisaloftheabilitytoachievethem,oranunderstandingoftheconnectionsbetweenthosegoalsandlargerbusinessstrategies.Accordingtoour2025

survey,morethanfourin10organizationswesurveyed(42%)citedunrealisticbusinesscasesoralackofdatatoevaluatethemproperlyaskeyreasonstechinvestmentshavefallenshort.Asaresult,manyleaderswillsinkconsiderabletimeandcapitalintobuyingandimplementingnewtechnologies,onlytochangedirectionlaterorrealizetheyhaveinvestedin

redundanttechnologies.

Thischangesthenatureofthedecision-makingprocess.Astechnology'sroleandpotentialimpactsbecomemorecomplex,Sodoesthevaluecaseforit.

Butfailingtoinvestintechnologythreatenstoundermineoutcomesacrossmultipledimensions,includinghuman

performance,businessperformance,quality,expertise,brand,innovation,andtheworkerexperience,potentiallyleadingtolossoffaithamongworkers,partners,customers,andinvestors.

Tomakeeffectiveinvestmentsintech,leaderswillneedtonavigatedifficulttensions,includinghowtobalanceafocusontheimmediateandpredictablereturnofautomationversusthepotentiallargervaluefromaugmentationusecases(figure4).Inaddition,thereisatensionbetweenfocusingonhardertoquantifyoutcomes(e-g.,innovation,capabilities)inthevaluecaseversusmoretraditionaloutputs(e·g·,effciency).

Findingthevalueinworkandworkforcetechnology

Giventhetensionsandchallengesdiscussedabove,mostorganizationswillneedanewapproachtoworkandworkforcetechnologyandnewmetricstomeasurethevaluethesetechnologiesarecreating.Howcanleadersidentifywhentheirtechvaluecasewarrantsanontraditionalapproach?

Howtechnologyinvestmentsaffecthumanandbusinessoutcomes

Technologiesthatdrivebusinessoutcomes…workerproductivity

senseofpurposefromcreatingnewsourcesofvalueRewardsfrombelongingtoahigh-performingteamLong-termemployability

source:Deloitteanalysis.

nshts·deloite.com/insights

Innovationtodrivenewproductsandservicescollaborationtoachieveorganizationalkpls

proficiencyinnewskills

canalsodrivehumanoutcomes:

workerwellbeingandmeaningfulwork

Deloitte

organizationshavethepotentialtocreatepositivefeedbackloopsinwhichtechnologyinvestmentsbettercultivateand

supporttheirpeople,who,inturn,creategreatervaluewithtechnology.startbydeterminingthehumanperformanceand

humansustainabilityoutcomesyouwanttoachieve,suchasworkforcehappinessandwell-being,loyalty,innovation,brand,riskmitigation,andotherkeyoutcomesrelatedtotalent.Asyouweighnewhuman-centeredmetricsandKPIsfortechnologyinvestments,ask:

.whathumanoutcomescantechnologyinvestmentssupportnow?

·Inwhatwaysdoestheintroductionofaparticulartechnologychangetheworkbeingdoneandalterthehumanwork

experience?

·withintheorganization,whoarethebestpeopletoownprogresstowardthisbasketofoutcomes?

whensettinggoalsforhumanoutcomesandevaluatingprogresstowardthem,considerthefollowinghumanoutcomes:

workforcemetrics

·Employeeretention

·Employeedevelopment

·Employeeengagement/satisfaction

·Numberofagilepodsorteams

.Toleranceforexperimentationandintelligentfailure·Internaltalentmobility

·Employeeinnovation

.Employeeutilizationrate

·Employeeproductivity

purposemetrics

·socialreturnoninvestment·Humansustainability

.organizationaltrust

.organizationalresilience.organizationalmissionfit.corporatereputation

Metricsthatincludebothbusinessandhumanoutcomescanworktogetherinamutuallyreinforcingcycle(figure6),ensuringthatasthebusinessgrowsandsucceeds,itsworkersdo,too,leadingtoavirtuouscycleofcontinuousimprovement.

Figure6

organizationsshouldmeasuresuccessinbothbusinessandhumanoutcomes

scrollformoredata>>

。rganzati。nTeshHowtheyaremeasuringsucess

workforcetechnologyworktechnology

Roche,aglobalpharmaceuticalandbiotechcompany

AIl-poweredlearningtechnology

.shortenedspeedto

competency(reducedfrom1.5yearsto90days)

oLoweremployeeturnoverandgreatercustomersatisfaction7

TEksystems,aglobalproviderofbusiness,technology,andtalentsolutions

AI-drivenlearningexperienceplatformincludingbadgingandcredentialing

.Increasednewhiretimetoproductivity

mprovedretentionandattrition

Morepromotions(including

thoseintoleadershiprolesandhigher-levelsalesandrecruiterroles)

.Highernetpromotorscore8

VMware,anAmericancloudcomputingcompany

Al-enabledpersonalizedleadershipcoaching

oIncreasedsenseofbelonging(by11%)

mprovedpsychologicalsafetyoImprovedreadinessofdiverse

leaders

workforcetechnologyworktechnology

.Fasterproducttimetomarket(16%increaseacross

organizationsthatuseitfortechnicalteams)1o

.mprovedworkforceproductivityll

oImprovedincident

managementandoperationsforengineeringteamsl2

Fasteronboardingofseasonalagents(50%faster),leadingtoa213%returnoninvestment

andus$230,000insavings

oImprovedcaseresolution(byover40%)l3

Reductioninsafetyincidents

Bettersafetyperformancevia

real-timevisibilityanddata

ReducedmanufacturingerrorsoImprovedcustomer

satisfactionandreduced

customercomplaintsby50%14

Al-poweredplatformforworkthatintegratesconversations,apps,

andcustomersinoneplace

Front-lineworkerdigitaltoolstoimproveplantoperations

Al-poweredcustomerservicetechnology

IBM,aglobaltechnologycompany

wiley,aglobalpublisher

GrupoBimbo

source:Deloitteanalysis.

Deloitte.Insghts

Newapproach:Takeacuefromresearchanddevelopmentwithaportfolioapproach

Ratherthanapplyingthetraditionaltechinvestmentframe,inwhichindividualinvestmentsdrivequantiableeffcienciesthat

producepredictableROI,considerapplyinganR&Dframe:Assembleaportfolioofinvestmentsintendedtohelpyoulr

organizationadvancetowardthegoalsyouhaveidentihed,withtheexpectationthattheonesthatpanoutwillmorethanpayfortheonesthatdon't.

Insomecases,theportfolioviewmayhelpyourationalizeandsimplifyyourorganization'suseoftechnology.Youmayfndthatthecollectionofcurrentandpotentialtechnologiesthreatenstoincreasethedigitalbusyworkyourpeoplemustcope

withandopttoforegoinvestmentsorundoothers.

Forexample,acompany'sdesiredoutcomemaybetoacceleratethedevelopmentandlaunchofnewproducts.Itmaymakeseveralrelatedinvestmentsto:

.MakegeneralizedAItoolsavailabletoengineersanddesigners,whowillgureouthowtoapplythemtoideationandinnovation.

.Deploynewvirtualmodelingsoftwaretohelpproductdesignersrapidlyprototypenewproductdesigns.

•InvestinnewsmartmanufacturingtoolssuchasindustrialrobotsandAI-poweredqualityscreeningtoolstoreducereworkandspeedtimetomarket.

Anyoneoftheseinvestmentsmaynotproducethefulldesiredbusinessoutcomeinashorttimeframe,butincombinationtheycouldproducetransformativeresults.continuallyevaluatetheportfolio'simpactonprogresstowardyouroutcomesaswellaseachindividualinvestment'scontributiontoit—andbepreparedtoshift.Thisongoingawarenessisimportantfor

leaders,whomayneedtomakedecisionsaboutwhentopulltheplugandwhentomakeashiftbasedonadifferentcalculus.

Cnditin.·thetimehriznfrpayback·andtheuncertaintyftheutcmesAnthersetfcharacteristic.relate.t

Arangeofcharacteristicsmayindicatewhetheramoretraditional,discreteinvestmentcaseoraportfolioapproachismoreappropriate,includingthecomplexityofmeasuringvalue,thedegreetowhichrealizingthevaluedependsonother

diffusionofvalueacrossanorganization.Isthetechnology'simpactonasingle,clearlydefnedprocessorfunction,orisitspreadacrossmultipleareasortheentireenterprise?

Newgovernance:Includeinterdependenciesandmultiplestakeholders

cocreatevaluecasesfornewtechnologieswithabroadsetofstakeholdersacrosstheorganization,includingworkersand

leadersinrelevantfunctions.Differentperspectivescaneducateeachother:Forexample,leadersinfnance,humanresources,orotherdepartmentscanhelpITleadersunderstandtheirneeds;ITleaderscanguidetheircounterpartstowardtechnologyinvestmentsthatwillbemosteffectiveforaddressingthoseneeds;andworkerscanprovideinputontheimpactgiven

technologiescouldhaveontheirlivesandworkexperience.

Insomecases,oncefoundationalinvestmentsintechnologyplatformsanddataareinplace,deploymentofincrementaltechnologiescanmoveprimarilyintothehandsofbusinessleaderswhoseenovelusecases—thishasbeenborneoutatsalesforce,asthey'verolledoutAI-poweredagentstosupportemployees.

organizationsthatcanadapthowtheythinkaboutandweightechnologyinvestmentshavethepotentialtofeedavirtuouscycleofhumanandtechnologicalprogress,forthemutualbeneftofbusinessesandtheirpeople.

Researchmethodology

Deloitte's2025GlobalHumancapitalTrendssurveypollednearly10,000businessandhumanresourcesleadersacrossmanyindustriesand

sectorsin93countries.Inadditiontothebroad,globalsurveythatprovidesthefoundationaldatafortheGlobalHumancapitalTrendsreport,Deloittesupplementeditsresearchthisyearwithworker,manager,andexecutive-specificsurveystouncoverwheretheremaybegapsbetweenleaderandmanagerperceptionandworkerrealities.Thesurveydataiscomplementedbymorethan25interviewswithexecutivesfromsomeoftoday'sleadingorganizations.Theseinsightshelpedshapethetrendsinthisreport.

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GetintouchwithaDeloitteprofessionalfortheinformation,ideas,andanswersyouneed.

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DavidMallonunitedstates

Amysanfordunitedstates

Endnotes

1.Timsmith,GregoryDost,GarimaDhasmana,Dianakearns-Manolatos,Iramparveen,andsaurabh

Bansode,"Focusingonthefoundation:Howdigitaltransformationinvestmentshavechangedin2024,"DeloitteInsigbts,oct.14,2024.

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2.Deloitte,"Mappingdigitaltransformationvalue:Themetricsthatmatter,"Nov.17,2023.

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3.Ibid,P.3.

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4.Deloitteclientwork.

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5.Eightfold.ai,"closingthetalentgapatEaton,"accessedJan.7,2025.

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6.Jeranwittenstein,"AICanonlydo5%ofjobs,saysMITeconomistwhofearscrash,"Bloomberg,october2,2024.viewinArticle

7.cornerstone,"Roche'snewHRtoolsarejustwhatthedoctorordered,"accessedJan.7,2025.

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8.Degreed,"ElevatinggrowthwithDegreed'sbadgingandcredentialing,"accessedJan.7,2025.

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9.Betterup,"Build