Australia’s industries lag in digital maturity but better prepared to handle uncertainty despite talent and sustainability woes: Autodesk report

Sydney, Australia – May 17, 2023 – Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today released the Australian findings of its 2023 State of Design & Make report, revealing 36 per cent of local organisations regard themselves as ‘more digitally mature’ than their competitors, slightly behind the global average of 38 per cent, and behind China (57 per cent). Australian companies are also lagging global sustainability targets, and have experienced issues resulting from talent shortages more than other nations, according to the data.

The 2023 State of Design & Make report is a study of more than 2,500 business leaders – including 262 in Australia – in the industries that comprise the Design and Make category. These sectors include architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO), product design and manufacturing (D&M), and media and entertainment (M&E). 

The report found the top three challenges facing Design and Make companies around the world are attracting and retaining talent, managing costs, and responding to the volatile global economy and global events. The report also revealed striking differences in resilience and performance for companies that are digitally mature, or further along in using digital tools to transform their businesses.

However, Australian companies are better prepared to weather the storm; 63 per cent of local respondents agreed their company is prepared to handle changes, outranking US (51 per cent) and European (58 per cent) counterparts.

Although 36 per cent of Australian respondents regard their organisations as ‘more digitally mature’, 22 per cent are still at an ‘early stage’ of their digital transformation journeys, with 42 per cent ‘right in the middle’, 21 per cent ‘approaching the goal’, and 15 per cent having ‘achieved the goal’.

Autodesk also found Australian Design and Make organisations are more prepared to increase their digital investments, with 73 per cent planning to do so in the next three years, compared to a global average of 67 per cent.

Despite the progress yet to be made for many on the digital front, 60 per cent of Australian respondents identified their companies as top performers in 2021, a significant jump from 24 per cent in 2019. The global average saw an increase of 35 per cent in 2019 to 51 per cent in 2021, reflecting a higher rate of digitalisation down under.

Image courtesy of Autodesk

“It is a crucial time for Australian companies in the range of industries that comprise Design and Make,” said Andy Cunningham, Senior Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand at Autodesk. “We are seeing increasing ambitions to digitalise processes to improve how our communities are architected, engineered, designed and built, however those objectives are stunted by challenges in finding the right people to make this happen, alongside a slower-than-needed response to doing so sustainably.”

“Although Australian companies are in a stronger position in terms of their digital transformation when contrasted against other regions,” said Cunningham, “it’s important we, as a collective industry, don’t shy away from the very clear progress that needs to be made. As digital investments continue, local organisations stand to see vast untapped opportunities to evolve how they operate internally and collaborate with third parties and contractors, all the while reducing environmental impact. At the same time, they will become better equipped to attract, retain and train new talent. All of these factors will progressively combine to put them in a more resilient position as they tackle unpredictable macroeconomics conditions, and the uncertainty that comes with it.”

Megan Stanley, Manager of Technical Applications for global professional services company GHD, said that companies must work to manage the “explosion” of data that they produce.

“We realised the potential value of data some time ago,” said Stanley, “but today our sources of data are nearly endless. This has created, for many of us, a data explosion. With the volume of information we generate through sources like project information, communications, sensors, and technology, we have access to a lot of potentially high-value data. The challenge for organisations and the industry will be how we collectively create standards and a consistent approach to realising that value.”

Image courtesy of Autodesk

Battling talent shortages and workforce changes

The workforce has evolved more in the past three years than in the previous 25, said nearly three quarters of respondents worldwide. This is a startling assertion given that the previous quarter century included the rise of the internet, email, smartphones, mobile apps, and mobile computing, but shows how daunting workforce changes caused by the pandemic have been for employers.

Today, attracting and retaining talent is the top challenge for 48 per cent of respondents. Access to skilled employees is posing a barrier to business growth for 64 per cent of respondents. A total of 93 per cent of respondents said upskilling was important to their companies. Skills of the future include those related to technology, collaboration, and regulatory knowledge. 

In evaluating existing workforces, Australian organisations (alongside Japan), were the most likely to identify they experienced issues regarding their ability to meet innovation goals due to an inability to find the right talent in the past 12 months.

At the same time, Australian companies were the least likely to cite an ageing workforce (38 per cent) or slowness to adapt to a younger generation’s needs and desires (34 per cent) compared with all other nations studied in the report.

Australia lagging global sustainability goals

The report showed a consensus emerging on the importance of sustainability. Some respondents said taking sustainability measures will eventually account for a substantial part of their revenue.

Unfortunately, the report data revealed Australian companies were less likely to have taken sustainability actions around carbon, including:

• Creating clear goals for carbon neutrality – 13 per cent compared to 25 per cent worldwide;
• Helping or requiring decreased carbon emissions from suppliers – 13 per cent versus 21 per cent worldwide;
• Participating in voluntary carbon markets or carbon offsets – 13 per cent compared to 17 per cent worldwide.

Meanwhile, only six per cent have a demonstratable commitment to sustainability based on their activities or memberships.

From a global perspective:

• 80 per cent of respondents said improving sustainability practices is a good long-term business decision;
• 82 per cent said customers are influencing their sustainability activities;
• Nearly 90 per cent said their industry or organisation has made changes to improve sustainability.

Decreasing waste, using more recycled materials, and designing with sustainability in mind were among the top changes respondents reported their companies taking.

Image courtesy of Hansen Yuncken

Digitally mature companies primed for growth

Digital transformation is boosting business by reducing costs, increasing innovation, improving performance, and enabling products and services to launch faster. Indeed, 79 per cents of respondents globally said that the future growth of their company will depend on digital tools.

When Autodesk looked at business metrics including customer satisfaction, profit margin, and revenue from 2019-2021:

• More digitally mature companies outperformed less digitally mature companies;
• The performance gap between more and less digitally mature companies appeared to grow.

More digitally mature companies planned to increase investments over the next three years in:

• Technology to improve project outcomes;
• Product or service innovation;
• New product or service development.

Download the 2023 State of Design & Make report. 

About the State of Design & Make report

Autodesk has served the Design and Make industries for decades, giving the company unique access to experts in the AECO, D&M, and M&E industries. Autodesk partnered with Ipsos, a leader in global research and insights, to survey 2,565 leaders, futurists, and experts across the globe. The State of Design & Make report names the most pressing drivers of change shaping today’s business decisions to help leaders make informed, strategic choices for the future.

Autodesk will update the State of Design & Make report annually.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Our technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to more mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software helps our customers to design and make a better world for all. For more information, visit autodesk.com.au or follow @autodesk. #MakeAnything