Businesses will be spending a lot more money on productivity and collaboration tools this year, as they look to support remote and hybrid workers. This is according to a new report from Dynabook Europe, called The Hybrid Shift: Managing an increasingly remote workforce.
Polling more than 1,000 senior IT decision-makers at medium to large enterprises within the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, the company found that 65 percent of European respondents have access to increased IT budgets this year.
While most of it will go towards remote and hybrid working solutions, a significant portion will also be spent on ensuring business continuity.
Drilling deeper into what IT budgets will be spent on, Dynabook found that cloud solutions and remote IT assistance were the top two priorities among most of the respondents. Cybersecurity infrastructure was also said to be important, which includes spending more on the best security software.
IT training for staff, as well as equipping the employees with new and secure devices, were also cited. Of all the different devices, laptops were described as the “unsung heroes of the pandemic”.
Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of businesses now regard purchasing decisions around such devices as more important than before Covid-19, it was added.
“The last year has seen unprecedented change in the way we work, and it’s clear from our research that European businesses are still racing to ensure their IT infrastructure meets the demands of an increased remote and hybrid workforce,” said Damian Jaume, President, Dynabook Europe GmbH.
“Armed with increased budgets, it’s evident that the role of the device has grown in importance as organizations realize the vital role hardware plays – alongside the right software – in keeping employees secure, connected and productive in this new world.”
