The Eco-Digital economy is projected to double from the current $17 trillion to almost $33 trillion by 2028 globally, as per a report by Capgemini.

Notably, 79 per cent of Indian respondents believe that organisations are experiencing a dual transition towards a more digital and sustainable world. This sentiment was echoed by 77 per cent of respondents on a global level.

The Capgemini Research Institute surveyed 1,500 senior executives from sectors such as automotive, consumer products, retail, life sciences, banking and wealth management,  based in 14 countries across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. 

On a global level, nearly eight in ten organisations have said they are experiencing a dual transition towards a more digital and sustainable world, but only around 25 per cent of the overarching potential of mainstream technology has been harnessed. 

India's digital economy as of today is estimated at $526 billion, which is expected to also double in size on the back of Asia’s GDP jumping 10 per cent from the current 22.4 per cent to an estimate of 32.1 per cent by 2028, the study found out.

The organisations surveyed believe technologies can help them become more sustainable. As many as 58 per cent of global respondents believe digital technologies help them fast-track sustainability goals. Over 60 per cent of the surveyed companies want to achieve sustainability goals through digital technologies.

The current stage of implementing emerging technologies is at 24 per cent for GenAI, 27 per cent for edge computing, 16 per cent for digital twins, 19 per cent for blockchain technology, and 16 per cent for Metaverse/AR/VR.

As far as the top five investment priorities for Indian organisations are concerned, these include investment in scaling mainstream technologies at 67 per cent, followed by emerging technologies such as AI, AR/VR, blockchain at 63 per cent. This also includes the reskilling of existing workforce at 63 per cent, automating business processes and workflows at 62 per cent and cybersecurity and privacy measures at 59 per cent.

As per the survey, 72 per cent of Indian respondents still await to see the potential of mainstream technologies being realised.

Almost 40 per cent of the total workforce needs to be dedicated to digital initiatives in the next 3-5 years. About 64 per cent of the organisations investing in reskilling their existing workforces feel there is a need for flexible frameworks that allow for rapid evolution. 

In terms of their Indian counterparts, 63 per cent of Indian respondents are investing in reskilling their existing workforces, with 57 per cent of them investing in scaling agile methodologies across organisations. About 42 per cent of them are investing in creating dedicated software teams for driving software-defined transformation, as per the report.

In terms of startups, 56 per cent of the Indian respondents are partnering with technology startups for their expertise, with 49 per cent of them re-evaluating their business model and transforming operations to be more agile.

Fernando Alvarez, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Capgemini said organisations will need to leverage focused efficiencies in their core business, enabled by digital to free up investment to support their dual transition. 

"We are at the dawn of a new transformative era and we have only scratched the surface of how digital technologies can help expedite the delivery of substantial economic, environmental, and societal benefits,” he added.