From left: Andrew Hetherington, CEO, Business to Arts; Feargal O’Rourke, managing partner, PwC; Sean Rainbird, director, National Gallery Ireland; and Katie Molony, CEO, Maximum Media. Image: Jason Clarke
Digital investment gets a boost but greater understanding of opportunities from data analytics is needed.
The business and arts community in Ireland plans to increase its investment in digital technologies in the year ahead, bolstered by prospects for increased revenues.
However, there is significant room for improvement in terms of understanding the opportunities of digital and upskilling in digital analytics capabilities.
‘From contactless payment stations to centralised data sources to VR educational experiences, it is clear that new ways of analysing data and harnessing new technologies will have a considerable impact on the Irish arts and heritage sector’
– ANDREW HETHERINGTON
That’s according to the joint PwC and Business to Arts poll of this specific leadership cohort in Ireland, ahead of the Business to Arts CEO Forum this Friday (29 September).
A new canvas for digital
The poll found that 79pc of business and arts executives are confident about their revenue prospects for the year ahead.
However, just one in two (54pc) executives in the business and arts community with responsibility for digital strategy understand the opportunities presented by the world of digital.
“While an overwhelming majority of business and arts executives confirm they are planning to increase their investment in digital technologies, over a third admit that they are not getting value from their current digital spend, or don’t know,” said PwC technology partner David Lee.
Despite this, an overwhelming majority (85pc) of business and arts executives plan to increase investment in digital technologies to enhance their customer or audience experience in the year ahead. Key areas for investment are social media (88pc), website or digital content (88pc), customer data analytics (58pc) and online or e-commerce (48pc).
According to Ireland’s business and technology leaders, an increase in investment is needed in key emerging technologies, such as the internet of things and artificial intelligence, in order to keep pace with global levels.
“From contactless payment stations to centralised data sources to VR educational experiences, it is clear that new ways of analysing data and harnessing new technologies will have a considerable impact on the Irish arts and heritage sector over the coming years,” said Andrew Hetherington, CEO of Business to Arts.
“With this year’s Business to Arts CEO Forum, we join forces with PwC once again to share technology insights and keep pace with relevant digital and data transformations in the banking, media and arts sectors.”
