92% of CIOs find integrating new communications channels with legacy IT systems a key challenge to improving customer experience, according to research from cloud communications software provider, IMImobile.

As businesses become increasingly expected to respond with the same level of speed and consistency whether using email, SMS, Facebook Messenger or new channels such as WhatsApp Business, 98% of CIOs feel under pressure to deliver the customer experience expected by both customers and the wider business. However, more than half (52%) of CIOs admit they are unable to provide a truly connected and integrated customer communications experience across all channels and business systems.

When asked to identify the biggest barriers to delivering a frictionless customer experience, CIOs cited legacy IT systems (51%), data being spread across multiple systems (51%), and budget constraints (42%), as the top three.

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“It is widely known that the ability to innovate and improve customer communications can make or break a business. Worryingly, the research lays bare the gap between the experience customers now expect, and what businesses are currently able to provide,” said Aseem Sadana, EVP at IMImobile. “The challenge is that delivering a great customer experience is easier said than done. This is especially the case for large consumer-facing enterprises, where fragmented, legacy IT environments make integrating new communications channels and processes very complex. Many of them also have data that is spread across multiple systems, with programmes and processes varying from department to department.”

Coding and control challenges

According to the research, CIOs also face challenges around the piecemeal evolution of customer communications environments; 83% said their current development approach hinders their ability to change or create new customer journeys in a fast and agile manner. While 89% recognised that a low-code approach would increase their business agility and mean they were less reliant on specialist developer skills; 89% of CIOs are also keen to empower teams across the wider business to innovate new customer journeys such as customer services and marketing.

The research was conducted by Vanson Bourne, who surveyed 200 UK CIOs and senior IT decision makers at large enterprises, and the full report can be downloaded here.

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