IT decision makers are leading the new economy

“CTOs, often forming powerful alliances with technologically minded CFOs, are increasingly leading discussions about business transformation. Despite the challenges of recent years, this is an incredibly exciting time for our industry”.

Manufacturing, warehousing and distribution are amongst the industries most heavily impacted by Brexit, the pandemic and the resulting radical shifts in consumer behaviour. Indications show supply chain management is a high priority for UK businesses, with 23% of IT decision-makers planning to invest in the next twelve months.

On the front-office side of enterprise operations, investments in CRM are front of mind. In the survey, 40% of responders say they have immediate plans to spend on CRM and sales management software. This marks a trend for organisations looking to use digital solutions to enhance customer experience.

Almost half of those surveyed (48%) suggest they have plans to spend on analytics and BI platforms. Data quality, data governance and master data management remain key. An increasing number of respondents are planning cloud data warehousing and data lake servicing investments.

And emerging data technologies such as data cataloguing, data preparation and investments in platforms that operationalise machine learning are also gaining traction.

“The prioritisation of significant back-office investment indicates that the leading businesses in the UK will become increasingly intelligent. The winners in the new economy will be fuelled be exceptional BI platforms and built on cloud-based integrated systems that free human resources to concentrate on higher-value activity.”