Responding to the COVID-19 crisis, global IT leaders deployed the biggest technology spend in history averaging around $15 billion extra a week. The Harvey Nash KPMG CIO survey of over 4,200 IT leaders from companies with technology spend of over $250 billion found Security and Privacy remained top investment priorities (47%).
Investment in Infrastructure and the Cloud was the third most important technology investment during COVID-19.
A number of IT leaders are actively considering Distributed Cloud nearly doubling in just 12 months (from 11% to 21%).
Small scale implementations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have jumped up from 21% before COVID-19 to 24% now, a significant jump in a period of only a few months.
For almost half (47%) of IT leaders, COVID-19 has permanently accelerated digital transformation and adoption of emerging technology (AI, ML, blockchain and automation).
Increasing cyber-attacks, Cyber Security is the most ‘in demand’ Technology Skill
Over three-quarters of these attacks were from phishing (83%), and almost two thirds from malware (62%) suggesting that the massive move to remote working has increased exposure from employees.
Cyber security (35%) is now the most ‘in demand’ technology skill in the world.
In addition to cybersecurity skills (35%), the next three most scarce technology skills are organizational change management (27%), enterprise architecture (23%) and technical architecture and advanced analytics both at 22%.
The pandemic has permanently increased the influence of the technology leader
All is not well
8 in 10 IT leaders concerned about the mental health of their tech teams due to the pandemic. As a result, 6 in 10 IT leaders (58%) are putting programs in place to support their staff.
As 2020/21 technology budgets come under more strain the sudden increase isn’t sustainable, notes the survey.
The crisis has also served to emphasize a growing divide between organizations driving their strategy through technology, and those that aren’t.
Remote working is here to stay
86% of IT leaders moved a significant part of their workforce to remote working, and 43% expect more than half of their employees to work from home after the pandemic.
Work location & remote working has risen to become one of the five most important factors for engaging and retaining key technology talent during, and after, COVID-19.
Almost two thirds (61%) stated the pandemic has permanently increased the influence of the technology leader
More innovation happened in the last six months than in the last ten years
Same Priorities with Accelerated Digitisation
The top priorities for boards did not change with the onset of Covid-19: operational efficiency and customer engagement, both long-standing priorities of the technology leader.
While some organisations will have required a radical change in direction, for most it has served to accelerate what was already in place.
Also read: COVID-19 is widening the gap between leading and lagging industries
For some this has actually been useful: “More innovation happened in the last six months than in the last ten years,” remarked one respondent.
Appdynamics’ Agents of Transformation survey noted: “74% of technologists reported digital transformation projects which would have typically taken more than a year to be approved have been approved in a matter of weeks amid the pandemic“.
