3 Ways Companies Are Optimizing IT Spend in 2021

Now well into the first quarter of a new year, "business as usual" is still being shaped by the paradigm shift of last year. This change is particularly acute in technology investments - as companies shift tech priorities in response to gaps and opportunities within their tech stacks. IT company Spiceworks estimates that over 33% of 2021 budgetary increases will be influenced by Covid-19, with considerable shifts in priorities as businesses strengthen up gaps in their security and application stacks. 

Here Are 3 Key Ways Companies Are Adjusting Their IT Budgets in 2021:

1. Investing in the Employee Experience

According to Spiceworks, 64% of companies pivoted to remote work last year, and over half intend to retain this flexibility post-pandemic. This change saw a concomitant boom in communication tools, virtualization services such as Windows Virtual Desktop, network monitoring tools, infrastructure enhancements, and remote security solutions such as managed wireless. Per Spiceworks findings, 30% of companies are developing training resources to support remote employees, and 32% want to connect employees through standardized and user-friendly platforms. User experience has been placed at the foreground of business digital transformation, as more companies are looking to accelerate their own IT initiatives.

2. Trading Edge Technologies for Cyber Maturity

Across the board, companies have identified endpoint security as a top priority. With diffuse workforces, 33% of businesses are focusing on decreasing risk and strengthening their approach to IT governance in 2021. Spiceworks projects strong two year growth in security strategies such as:

• Employee Training Programs

• Anti-ransomware Solutions

• Breach Detection Systems

• Cloud Workload Protection

This push has, of course, led to a redistribution of IT budgetary priorities. In 2021, companies are deprioritizing experimental projects, often in the realm of emerging technologies such as 5G, edge computing, blockchain, and large-scale AI solutions. Instead, they're looking to optimize existing stack spend, and invest in affordable IT leadership. 

3. Leveraging End to End Cloud Solutions

To support user productivity and cybersecurity best practices, companies are increasing their cloud spend over 2020. 35% of organizations have accelerated workload migrations to the cloud, with productivity solutions accounting for the largest projected software spend in 2021. Other popular cloud products include continuity/recovery solutions and email hosting. Managed service spend is also increasing, with growing interest in:

• Managed hosting

• Hardware support

• Data backup and storage

• Managed remote security

Throughout 2021, IT departments will continue to address new security concerns, streamline their physically distant coworkers, migrate workloads to the cloud, and continue to update and test disaster recovery solutions for greater resilience. Businesses will prioritize affordable IT support, and seek out new ways to improve their employee experience. For more information about implementing any of these IT strategies, reach out to iCorps for a free consultation.