IT decision makers are increasingly looking at their budgets through the lens of business resiliency. Lessons learned during months of the pandemic highlighted the importance of digital transformation for increasing business agility and resiliency. The mission-critical impact of communication and collaboration technology is a lesson learned that is shaping IT investments moving forward.
While IT budgets sharply declined in 2020, investments in enterprise collaboration platforms surged. The pandemic accelerated adoption of mobile messaging and collaboration as a core component of IT stacks to connect an increasingly distributed workforce. Entering into the new year, strategic investments in collaboration solutions that enhance communication and productivity are expected to increase to help drive greater business resiliency.
According to a 451 Research Voice of the Customer: Macroeconomic Outlook, Corporate IT Spending survey, nine out of 10 IT spending categories showed a six-month decline ranging 6-11 points between November 2019 and May 2020. “The single exception was enterprise collaboration, which remained unaffected…” Survey results also revealed that employee communications and collaboration was the top IT and software initiative prioritized by organizations due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
IT budgets in 2021 and beyond will be shaped by lessons learned in navigating the disruptive and challenging COVID-19 business environment. A survey by SpiceWorks Ziff Davis found that more than a third of 2021 budget increases will be influenced by COVID-19. The report noted that “COVID-19 has driven businesses around the globe to transform to enable remote workforces, adopt digital workflows, optimize business operations, and innovate to meet the needs of a new market.” The report also observed that information technology will play “a vital role in effectively connecting and securing a remote workforce” and because of this “organizations will need to continue investments in hardware, software and services to maintain productivity amid the remote work revolution.”
New working paradigms will continue to drive investment in secure mobile messaging and collaboration platforms like NetSfere. Analyst firm Forrester projects that remote work will rise to 300% of pre-COVID-19 levels with most companies employing “a hybrid work model, with fewer people in the office and more full-time, remote employees.”
As collaboration and communication technology takes on elevated importance in supporting a remote workforce, enhancing productivity and helping maintain business continuity and resiliency, IT decision makers should make NetSfere an key line item in 2021 budgets. NetSfere is designed to provide enterprises with the tools they need to optimize workforce productivity without compromising on security.
Contact us today to learn how NetSfere can help IT and line of business decision-makers address the secure communication and collaboration requirements of the workforce of today and tomorrow.