IT 2021 Planning - What Technologies are IT Leaders Looking to Invest in?
January 26, 2021
As I say “good bye” (and “good riddance) to 2020 I was wondering how the business impact of the pandemic will affect IT spending strategies in the coming year. I came across this IDC Technology Spotlight on workflow automation that reveals results of some of the research they did into IT spending plans.
According to the paper, “IDC estimates that digital transformation (DX) projects have been accelerated by two to three years over previous plans due to COVID-19”. The need to rapidly move from in-person to virtual greatly sped up the adoption of cloud technology, especially for call centers. Customers also increasingly turned to digital customer service channels, which caused acceleration of those plans too.
The analysts at IDC make a telling conclusion in the paper. “While 2020 may be remembered as a standout year for change and transition, the reality is that businesses are always in transition but usually have the benefit of longer decision cycles.” Now that IT leaders have had a chance to regroup, what technology are they now looking to invest in in 2021?
The Technology Spotlight cites results from the IDC COVID-19 Impact on IT Spending Survey. The survey found that organizations would be adding projects to their technology road map that offer opportunities to increase market share and introduce innovative offerings. In addition to capturing market share and introducing innovative new offerings, 60% of respondents indicated investments would be guided by weaknesses revealed during the pandemic.
The pandemic did not halt IT spending altogether but did exert a significant influence over what will guide additional spending. According to IDC, “Organizations are pursuing initiatives that deliver business value and efficiencies while helping maintain business continuity. Companies are confident that these projects will generate business returns in 2020/2021, will help reduce costs, will help create operational efficiencies, and can be more easily executed (see Figure 2).
In addition to providing come insight into IT spending plans, the paper primarily focuses on the advantage workflow automation can provide customer service and contact center operations. I’m planning on getting into that in my next post about the IDC Technology Spotlight covering workflow and the contact center.
