Cybersecurity and hybrid working are top priorities for IT

The pandemic brought major changes for businesses worldwide and has changed their technology priorities, finds Omdia, a leading research and advisory group focused on the global technology industry. 

A study carried out by the research group discovered that the top two enterprise priorities are now cybersecurity (58%) and hybrid working (55%), with customer experience, business processes, and better empowering frontline workers tied in third place at 49%.

Does hybrid work bring more challenges? 

Working away from the traditional office will be the new norm finds the report as 58% of employees confirmed they will either be primarily home-based or will adopt a hybrid work style. Omdia’s research also found that working remotely is improving employee productivity, with 68% of enterprises believing employee productivity has improved since the mass move to remote working and 35% of respondents reporting they have the metrics to prove it.

“The world of work has undergone significant change due to the disruptions brought about by the pandemic,” said Adam Holtby, Principal Analyst, Digital Workplace, Omdia and author of The Future of Work report. 

“Our research shows that people, process, place, and technology transformation are the foundation upon which successful digital workplace ecosystems are created. However, an anywhere workforce is reliant on a diverse set of capabilities and this new normal is presenting new challenges. Businesses must now reinvent themselves to create productive, safe and empowering environments for their employees. It’s time to focus less on work location and more on employee experience.”

What other key points can be taken away from the report? 

• The right technology partner is vital. 70% of respondents say that the pandemic has influenced their organisation’s decision about which information and communications technology (ICT) partners and service providers it will use in the future. 50% of respondents say that technology vendors have been very helpful in supporting the transition to remote working.
• Cellular connectivity is an important digital workplace capability. Personal connectivity solutions, such as personal cellular and broadband, are vital and organisations are planning to increase investment in employee mobile cellular connectivity. 48% of respondents are prioritising an increase in budget around mobile cellular over cloud services (43%) and security platforms and services (40%).
• When it comes to the digital workplace, businesses are looking to work with partners that can help select the most appropriate IT architecture and technologies, understand the impact of digitalisation on their industry and help align business and digital strategies. Partners must focus on delivering faster deployment of new technologies (38%), providing better support (28%) and having access to a dedicated service manager (26%), as these are the attributes businesses will most value from partner’s post-pandemic, according to the survey.