Seasoned research executive and thought leader Linus Lai as its Australia and New Zealand chief analyst and digital business research lead, effective immediately.

He will proactively promote the local team of industry analysts and consulting talent in Australia and New Zealand, complementing IDC's international research expertise.

Lai will also lead IDC's new digital business research, which examines how organisations and technology leaders are ushering in a new era, from scaling digital to running a viable digital business post-pandemic.

"A new breed of digital-first CEOs has emerged. We expect to see CEOs use technology strategically to compete and stay relevant to customers, with [the] goal of achieving half of their revenue from digital business models, and services by 2027," Lai says.

In this role, Lai will also look at how CEOs will be able to prioritise essential capabilities such as empathetic customer experience (CX), digital trust, and a hybrid-first workforce.

These include technology investments in CX applications, security platforms, intelligent automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and employee experience (EX). He will also be responsible for providing insights and analyses in enterprise adoption, integration, and management of these solutions.

This includes sourcing strategies, vendor selection, and identifying emerging trends in business and technology solutions across technology buyers in Australia and New Zealand.

"Linus will lead IDC's unrivalled global with regional and local market research, provide credible forecasts, deliver insightful research analysis and advisory to help Australia and New Zealand organisations thrive in the digital-first economy," IDC Australia and New Zealand managing director Tehmasp Parekh says.