57% of companies plan to invest more in ICT in the next two years, study finds

57% of companies are planning to invest more in ICT in the next two years, according to a study by Spanish telecoms firm Telefónica Tech.

The study gathered responses from a total of 810 IT professionals in Spain, Brazil, Germany, the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It credited the surge in investment to the pandemic, with 31% of firms acknowledging they had left themselves open to potential security vulnerabilities due to “poor” remote working practices.

During Covid-19, the data showed that organisations across the globe “significantly accelerated” their adoption of new technology to drive their digital transformation and boost their resilience.

The strategies developed also improved efficiency, according to 57% of organisations. “Aligning people and processes to the technology strategy” has led to a more seamless way of working, it said.

This is most notable among companies in the biotechnology (80%), retail (76%), finance (72%), food and beverage (70%) and public administration (68%) sectors.

Yet 28% of firms confess that they are solely concerned with immediate needs, and 81% of companies openly admitted they made purchases to adapt to the pandemic that will not provide strategic value in the long term, suggesting more long-term strategies may need to be devised.

The study concluded that the pandemic posed a number of major challenges that companies must now face. 44% of businesses understand they now need to implement people-based processes, for instance, looking at how to share data and work together, and involve employees in decisions on how the company uses technology to innovate for future growth.

However this may not be an easy fix, as the study alludes to some significant constraints to achieving strategic ICT aspirations, including: lack of budget (41%) and internal skills (32%), partner limitations (30%) and unproven technology and choice of strategy (both 24%).