Eight out 10 top UK managers arepreparing to sweat their IT assets,
doing more with less, to make sure their business stays
competitive, according to research.
Three-quarters of UK companies acknowledged that IT has helped
them fight the recession, but only four in 10 said investment in
new technologies was one of their key priorities to achieve
business growth and cut costs over the next year.
Despite the investment plans, some 83% of the managers polled
aimed to do more with what they already have, researchers
found.
The independent survey of 300 board-level private and public
sector executives, commissioned by
BT Global
Services, showed 74% believed better use of technology played a
role in fighting the recession over the past year.
Over two-thirds ranked future investment in faster computer
networks, flexible working and managed ICT services as priorities
to help their organisations become more efficient and cut costs in
the next 18 months.
This would help them achieve other key growth objectives such as
sales promotions, new product launches and better staff training,
researchers said.
Some 37% planned to spend money on faster and more reliable
network technology. The financial services industry led this move,
with 52% of institutions believing that faster, low-latency
networks for trading and sharing information would give them
competitive edge.
A third of all companies surveyed planned to spend money on
flexible working technology as a route to sustainable profits and
to help them manage staffing and property needs.
Head of BT Global Services UK, Mark Quartermaine, said it was
encouraging that many UK businesses felt a recovery was due. "The
way they do business has already changed significantly, but the
signs are that continued investment in new technology and processes
will help them do more with less and remain competitive on the
global stage," he said.
"The road to recovery is not the same for all industries," said
Graham Opie at Vanson Bourne, which conducted the research. He said
78% of public sector leaders feel the recovery will be slow, but
only 31% of their private sector counterparts agreed.
Retail managers showed the most optimism, with 70% confident
about their prospects next year.
Six of 10 managers in the financial services and 52% of
transport sector managers said their companies needed to invest in
technology in order to grow.
Marketing spend was a high priority across the board,
particularly in the financial services sector, where 76% said it
would help their businesses to grow.
The logistics industry respondents felt they had weathered the
storm well, with 39% suggesting that their business didn't suffer
at all. Logistics firms also had the widest spread in terms of
spending plans, with more than half prioritising investment in
training (51%), promotions (51%), product and service development
(53%) and marketing (57%).