Zinnov, a leading management consulting firm, today released a compelling report titled 'Large Enterprises: Transforming India's Digital Future'. This report brings to light how Indian large enterprises are undergoing digital transformation with a focus on enhancing operational efficiencies and delivering an unparalleled customer experience. The Indian economy has grown at a tremendous pace over the last two decades and large enterprises are the harbingers of accelerated growth expected in the coming years as well. As per Zinnov, a large enterprise denotes a business entity operating in India with HQ in India/outside India, and having a headcount of 1,000+ employees. The list includes private enterprises as well as PSUs and government undertakings.

India has around 3400 large enterprises, out of which roughly 1200-1300 are public-listed on Indian stock exchanges. These public-listed large enterprises generate revenues equivalent to nearly 40 per cent of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Manufacturing, real estate and construction, retail/CPG, and BFSI sectors dominate the public-listed large enterprise landscape. Consistent performance over the years has led to 141 of the public-listed large enterprises clocking revenues of over USD 1 billion in FY17, said the Zinnov report.

Indian Large Enterprises are walking a thin line between tackling the challenges and capitalising on the opportunities.

Challenges: Operational issues - Rising input costs, lack of skilled workforce, customer acquisition, managing operational issues, legislative and environmental barriers; competition from fast-growing domestic enterprises such as Patanjali, Jio etc., as well as from leading MNCs quickly building their presence in the Indian market; Disruption - Digital native enterprises are solving the use-cases, earlier catered to by only the traditional verticals, with the use of digital technologies.

Opportunities: Government policies - Initiatives like digital india, smart city, Make-in-India among others, are expected to create a plethora of cross-industry opportunities; Consumer growth - With over 60 per cent of working age population, India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world and this demographic dividend will boost consumerism over the next couple of decades; International expansion - Growing trade and investment relations with nations, rise as an export hub as well as inorganic growth and diversification opportunities are driving more enterprises to look beyond the nation's borders.

Commenting on large enterprises' approach in tackling the challenges and its effects, Praveen Bhadada, Partner & Global Head - digital transformation, Zinnov said, "We are witnessing a wave of digital transformation in billion dollar public-listed large enterprises, particularly on five tenets of talent, processes, infrastructure, business models, and innovation. The billion dollar public-listed large enterprises are expected to spend in excess of USD 360 million towards digital transformation by 2020, growing y-o-y at a staggering rate of 45 per cent. We also expect a direct impact, not just on the workforce within these billion dollar public-listed large enterprises, but also on adoption of digital technologies by the entire business ecosystem."

Rajat Kohli, Engagement Manager, Zinnov added, "In this study, Zinnov has also assessed the digital capabilities of billion Dollar public-listed Large Enterprises based on their focus on advanced digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Internet of Things (IoT), investments in digital talent, partnerships, and acquisitions. It's interesting to note that more than 40 per cent of the enterprises have already made investments in AI, RPA, and IoT, and ~20 per cent of the enterprises are well underway in their digital transformation journey."