Digital Marketing Solutions Summit | Forum Events Digital Marketing Solutions Summit | Forum Events Digital Marketing Solutions Summit | Forum Events Digital Marketing Solutions Summit | Forum Events Digital Marketing Solutions Summit | Forum Events

Posts Tagged :

Research

Investment in digital customer engagement ‘increases revenue by 90%’
By:
0

Investment in customer engagement continues to drive revenue growth and help companies meet their financial goals in the face of economic headwinds.

Twilio’s fourth annual State of Customer Engagement Report reveals that amid constrained resources and economic uncertainty, investment in digital customer engagement increased brands’ revenue by 90% on average, up from 70% last year.

The data also show that effective customer engagement strengthens brands’ ability to adapt to shifting market conditions and evolving consumer preferences.

Customer engagement leaders report increased customer retention, conversion and long-term loyalty, while six out of 10 companies report that investment in digital customer engagement improved their ability to meet changing customer needs.

Twilio’s State of Customer Engagement Report is based on a survey of more than 4,700 B2C leaders in key sectors across the world, plus a parallel survey of over 6,000 global consumers. It also incorporates data from Twilio’s own customer engagement platform, including Twilio Segment.

Twilio’s 2023 research explores essential consumer trends around personalization, data privacy and trust. The findings highlight the urgent need for brands to leverage zero- and first-party data, meaning data collected directly from interactions with customers rather than a third party, in order to improve customer experience and increase customer lifetime value.

The stakes of using data effectively are high, with 66% of consumers claiming they will stop using a brand if their experience is not personalized. Meanwhile, brands continue to overestimate how well they are meeting consumer expectations for communication preferences, protecting customer data privacy, and transparency around customer data usage. Additional consumer insights include:

  • Consumers want a faster transition to a cookieless future. Nearly one third of consumers always or often reject cookies on websites, while nearly two thirds (65%) of consumers would prefer brands use only first-party data to personalize their experiences. Meanwhile, eighty-one percent of brands are still reliant on third-party data.
  • Consumer frustration with inconsistent digital experiences is growing. 51% of consumers report being frustrated with their interactions over the past year, rising from 46% the year before.
  • Real-time personalization boosts customer lifetime value. 86% of consumers say that personalized experiences increase their loyalty to brands, and consumers spend on average 21% more on brands that personalize.
  • Consumers trust brands less than brands realize. 95% of consumers want more control over their customer data, placing top priority on “identity data.” Four in 10 consumers say they have stopped doing business with a brand after their expectations for trust and privacy weren’t met.

As part of the research, Twilio divided B2C companies into three categories based on their customer engagement maturity: customer engagement leaders, framers, and beginners. Customer engagement leaders—companies that have the most mature use of personalization, first-party data, and highest level of digital engagement—reported enormous benefits and increased revenue growth compared to those who have less advanced customer engagement strategies. Specifically,

  • 82% of customer engagement leaders met or exceeded their company’s financial goals for 2022, compared to 62% of customer engagement beginners
  • 40% of engagement leaders reported much higher customer retention rates than previous years, compared to 12% of beginners
  • 41% of engagement leaders reported much higher customer conversion rates than previous years, versus 15% of beginners.

“In this macroeconomic climate, every business is looking to do more with less budget,” said Joyce Kim, chief marketing officer at Twilio. “This research reflects what we’re hearing across our customer base, which is that when brands use first-hand data to personalize engagement with customers, it saves companies meaningful marketing spend and increases lifetime value. For brands facing growing headwinds, this means ROI today.”

Twilio’s State of Consumer Engagement Report 2023 is available as a web report with data available from 18 countries worldwide, and as a comprehensive, downloadable white paper. Both can be found at www.twilio.com/state-of-customer-engagement.

Only over a quarter of UK organisations have omnichannel connected in their organisations 
By:
0

Traditional communication methods are still the popular with three quarters (76%) of businesses using Email and three-fifths (59%) using SMS, but only 7% of UK businesses are using digital messaging apps.

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has set a gloomy tone for consumersacross the country. Whilst customers tighten their pockets, businesses are looking for ways to deliver relevant and personalised communications that keeps customers keen. Yet businesses are missing the mark, according to exclusive new online research from global cloud communications platform Infobip.

The research, commissioned with research company IDG, polled 215 organisations spanning across  retail & e-commerce, transport and logistics, telecommunications, financial and insurance and public sector industries. The research aimed to assess the integration of digital channels and how connected they are across differing departments within an organisation and how this informs the customer experience.

The research found that only over a quarter (28%) of UK organisations have omnichannel connected in their organisations, yet over 60% of UK organisations see the value in connected communication channels.

The results also found the following about channel use in UK organisations:

  • There is a slower adoption of newer digital messaging apps: Traditional communication methods are still the popular with three-quarters (76%) of businesses using Email and 59% using SMS but only 7% of UK businesses are using digital messaging apps; next year this figure is set to double (14%).
  • (66%) of data used in the different channels is customer information, yet only 6% of communication is personalised by behaviour or context.
  • Businesses are finding omnichannel difficult to implement: 61% of UK businesses see a lack of collaboration or connection between departments as the main challenges for implementing an omnichannel Customer Experience

With half (50%) of UK organisations in the process of selecting such technology now, and a third  (33%) planning to invest in having omnichannel messaging platform over the next 6-12 months, the research shows that having connected communication channels is of priority. However there seems to be difficulty in integrating this and using it. The main challenges cited for implementing an omnichannel Customer Experience is difficulty in integrating data with legacy systems (62%) and lack of collaboration or connection between departments (61%).

Almost half of UK and European companies (45% and 41%) have high levels of some digitisation within their organisation, and consistent with the Europe-wide finding, almost all (99%) companies in the UK have customer experience automation integrated into their business at some level. But only half of companies in UK and Europe are actively implementing omnichannel into their systems. There is still some way to go for businesses to achieve optimal omnichannel experience for their end-users.

Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer, at Infobip said: “Just like ourselves, our customers have an abundance of choice ranging from WhatsApp to Skype with their communication apps. While traditional communication methods are still going strong, to deliver effective and personal communication we need to tap into the digital messaging apps that our customers know, prefer and love. It’s encouraging to see we are recognising where our customers are and how we can reach them, this is informing where businesses are investing and funnelling their efforts. However, this can be a confusing task with legacy systems predating omnichannel methods. Partnering with businesses that specialise in supporting businesses transform their customer offering can lighten their load.”

AI startups raised over $5bn venture capital funding in 2022
By:
0

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has captured the attention of venture capital (VC) investors globally. Against this backdrop, 3,198 AI startups received $52.1 billion funding across 3,396 VC funding deals during 2022.

However, an analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that 2022 experienced a subdued VC funding activity across sectors and AI space also felt the brunt of a dent in investor sentiments. Although VC funding deal volume as well as value in the AI space declined in 2022 compared to the previous year, the impact was more prominent in terms of value.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, explained: “The number of VC funding deals announced in AI space globally declined by 4% in 2022 compared to the previous year, whereas the corresponding deals value was down by a massive 41.8%.”

AI deal volume experienced a fluctuating quarter-on quarter (Q-o-Q) trend throughout 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, deal value declined for the six straight quarters through Q3 2022. However, there was a rebound in both VC funding deals volume and value in Q4 2022.

Some of the notable VC deals announced in the AI space during 2022 include $1.5 billion fundraising by Anduril Industries, $580 million raised by Anthropic, and $500 million fundraising by Black Sesame Intelligent Technology.

Bose concluded: “The subdued VC funding activity in the AI space seems to be for short-term while long-term prospects are likely to be promising and the rebound in both deals volume and value in Q4 2022 could be seen as an indication of it.”

Twitterati shows mixed feelings towards Meta Verified
By:
0

Diverse perspectives among Twitter influencers around Meta’s user verification initiative surged dramatically in the third week of February.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has launched a paid subscription bundle “Meta Verified” starting at $11.99 a month that includes account verification with impersonation protections and access to increased visibility and support.

And according to GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics Platform there has been a mixed response among Twitter Influencers following the announcement.

Smitarani Tripathy, Social Media Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Some influencers opine that the service is needed to filter fake accounts, as Meta is actually verifying and not just charging for the badge. They prefer the steps taken by Meta to verify over Twitter and slams the SMS verification of Twitter.

“Meanwhile, some influencers say this new change may also give rise to verified scammers. Influencers have also found it expensive for users as the company wants to monetize its new features.  At the same time, some influencers expect the remaining social media platforms to launch verification subscriptions.”

Below are a few of the most popular influencer opinions captured by the GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics Platform:

  1. Ross Gerber, CEO at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management:

“Meta is offering customer service with their subscription service along with verification. This is well needed on instagram as it’s filled with fraud and fake accounts… and so many ‘influencers’ who can now be verified. Nor are they charging the people already verified. $META”

  1. Ari Paul, Founder of BlockTower Capital:

“Worth noting how unrelated this is to twitter’s program.  Meta is actually doing verification, not just charging for a badge.  And comes with service.”

  1. Mark Gruman, Chief Correspondent at Bloomberg LP:

“Twitter, Facebook etc should charge all they want for verification, extra features, fewer ads, new icons, better customer support etc. Completely reasonable. But charging for things like SMS authentication and for preventing platform problems like bot impersonators isn’t right.”

  1. Rachel Tobac, CEO at SocialProof Security:

“If we’re going to do paid verification at all, I’m glad Meta has required 2FA for it.

This ensures that an additional step is required upon sign in and reduces account takeover. Would love to see additional education on likely scams to steal pw/MFA for these types of accounts.”

  1. Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder CoinDCX:

“After Twitter Blue, #MarkZuckerberg launches Meta Verified badges! Wondering if this is actually thought out for adding real value to the audience or more for generating revenues. Also worried that this strategy may give rise to verified scammers!  Will have to wait and watch”

  1. Ben Parr, Co-Founder at Octane AI:

“Meta is rolling out the ability to pay for verification on Instagram. It will change the entire ecosystem around verification as a status symbol. Will the idea of verified accounts as being important symbols fade away? Check marks mean nothing anymore.”

  1. Ken Yeung, Co-Host and Producer at The Created Economy:

“Will #YouTube, #TikTok and #LinkedIn soon follow suit and launch a verification subscription offering like Twitter and Meta?”

ChatGPT, WebAssembly, and Serverless will spur app modernisation this year
By:
0

DevOps will be a dominant driver in the cloud computing arena in 2023, as enterprises advance their app modernisation strategies using the likes of ChatGPT and other AI-driven tech.

This prediction came about as part of research by GlobalData Technology Analyst Charlotte Dunlap, who notes that significant innovations in sophisticated application architectures will usher in new serverless deployment integrations with various cloud services, abstracting complicated configuration requirements.

Dunlap said: “Ground-breaking new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot achievements based on large language models (such as ChatGPT) will ease developers’ cumbersome coding requirements by automating the writing/converting of scripting, particularly programming languages developers are unfamiliar with.

GlobalData reveals that increased AI/automation advancements and accessibility will significantly escalate in 2023, playing a greater role in easing next-generation app development capabilities among developers and DevOps teams.

Dunlap added: “A primary example that highlights 2023 AI/automation innovations is the recent release of ChatGPT, version 3.5. The Natural Language Processing (NLP) model, developed by OpenAI, is trained on a massive amount of text data, so it’s able to generate human-like text and response. In addition to using the prototype AI chatbot to outright create new code without having to know any programming languages, a major use case will be in improving the Natural Language Understanding (NLU) of apps targeting customer service to provide more human-like responses to user-inputs. Such technology advancements will result in a newfound prioritization of DevOps among enterprises, based on a new wave of developer technologies, which significantly remove obstructions hindering deployment of modern apps.”

Additionally, over the next 12 months, developers will have access to integrated serverless app deployment options through key services including database management and app development tools, paving the way for serverless computing to be paired with event-driven architectures.

Dunlap conlcuded: “Since its rollout a few years ago, serverless computing hasn’t lived up to expectations due to the problematic underlying architecture. However, in recent months, providers have worked through some of those issues, including abstracting scalability configuration requirements.

Furthermore, game-changing developer tools, including WebAssembly, will leverage traditional web browser technology to create new uses with containers and Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS). The new technology is able to provide more robust cloud management of apps at scale on the same cloud infrastructure.’’

Retailers not seizing 1st party data capture opportunities
By:
0

Almost two fifths of retailers employed no form of data capture during online buying journeys, impacting their ability to market effectively.

In-depth research of 99 UK ecommerce brands in its 2023 WunderkIndex Report, which analysed on-site shopping journeys and customer engagement – across both email and text channels – over a 6-month period.

With 37% of the brands audited not seeking data capture, either when a customer first comes to the site, after browsing the site for several minutes, or at the point of exiting the website, retailers could be leaving valuable first-party data on the table. This risks impacting their marketing list growth and future revenue opportunities through email engagement, meaning they are potentially missing out on an estimated 6-10% additional digital revenue.

By the end of 2020, CPC (cost per click) across social media platforms had risen by between 20 – 60% YOY (year-on-year).  Yet, despite these rising costs, some of the conventional paid media platforms used by brands to acquire customers, including Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, were seeing a 30% decline in conversions.

This prompted many brands to question the ROI of being overly reliant on ‘rented’ audiences on 3rd party channels, especially with the planned third-party cookie cull by Google, set to take place in 2024, added into the mix.

This makes 1st party data now even more mission-critical to drive long-term engagement, revenues, and customer lifetime value (CLV) through cost-efficient owned channels – as well as to deliver ROI on marketing pounds, particularly given the continuing economic headwinds.

The WunderkIndex report also reveals common shortcomings in retailers’ data capture capabilities, with 93% of the websites surveyed failing to include explicit checkbox consent in on-site capture experiences, falling short of GDPR-led permissioning best practice.

Of the retailers audited with capture capabilities, 86% prompted visitors for an email address but just 6% were set up to capture mobile numbers, missing out on customer engagement opportunities via text – a rapidly growing and high-converting marketing channel.  A recent Wunderkind survey of over 2,000 UK consumers found that, while 84% agree that email is still the most convenient channel for communicating with retailers when shopping online, a third (32%) say they now find text just as convenient – an increase of +6 percentage points year-on-year.

Looking specifically at value exchanges offered for customer data opt-ins, discounting was the most common, offered by 40% of brands, followed by newsletter subscription (32%) and other perks such as VIP events, sales access, and exclusive content (17%).  This mirrors consumer demand for money-saving benefits, such as immediate discounting (58%) and free shipping (56%), topping Wunderkind’s recent shopper poll as their preferred value exchange mechanism when choosing to opt in.

Wulfric Light-Wilkinson, General Manager at Wunderkind International, said: “We’re seeing a seismic shift, not only in marketing channel performance but also in consumer behaviour, prompted in part by channel adoption but also driven by cost-of-living consumer behaviours, where the concept of value and that of value exchange are evolving.  And that calls for a change in marketing strategy – balancing the scales and pivoting to maximising value from owned audiences and channels will be absolutely critical in 2023, as retailers work harder to win conversions from increasingly cautious shoppers.  By owning and optimising 1st party data, brands can ensure ROI on marketing spend, while at the same time providing a better and more personalised customer experience.”

Internet users ‘becoming more discerning’ globally
By:
0

New data shows that the typical internet user globally has reduced their average daily internet use by 20 minutes over the past twelve months to 6 hours 37 minutes, equating to a year-on-year reduction of almost 5 percent.

Meltwater and We Are Social’s Digital 2023 report also indicates that time spent on social platforms has increased to more than 2½ hours per day — 40 minutes more than time spent watching broadcast and cable TV.

Analysis of the data suggests that people are looking for more purposeful internet use, with a focus on quality over quantity. The daily usage rate is a return to 2019 levels, before the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the world’s digital behaviours.

The 465 page report also shows that social platforms are claiming an ever greater share of the world’s search activity. 16- to 34-year-olds are now more likely to visit a social network when looking for information about brands than they are to use a search engine (48 percent vs. 45 percent), and half of the world’s social media users say that they actively visit social platforms to learn more about brands and see their content.

While the rise of TikTok search has already caught the attention of the media, the latest data suggest that Instagram is social media users’ preferred destination when researching things.

The growing importance of social media is reflected in global advertising spend, with investment in social media ads more than doubling since the outbreak of COVID-19,  to reach an estimated US $226 billion in 2022.

Additional headlines in Digital 2023, which looks at social media, internet, mobile and ecommerce trends globally, include:

  • There are 5.16 billion internet users in the world today, and 4.76 billion social media users.
  • Average daily mobile time has increased by seven minutes per day over the past year, and the typical Android user now spends more than five hours per day using their smartphone, however:
  • Computers still account for more than half of the time that people in North America and Europe spend using the internet.
  • Ownership of cryptocurrencies is in decline: the share of internet users who own at least one form of digital currency fell by three percent between July and October.
  • TikTok tops the global list of social media platforms when it comes to time spent per user on Android devices, followed by YouTube and Facebook.

Alexandra Saab Bjertnæs, Chief Strategy Officer at Meltwater said: “”Brands that want to be competitive today need to stay ahead of trends, searching for and identifying them, in order to understand their impact on any given industry. Consumers continue to spend more and more time on social media, and it’s clear that social will play an even more important role in the customer journey as users turn to platforms like TikTok and Instagram to guide their decision-making process. With more than 5 billion internet users today, it’s becoming more crucial than ever that brands deliver relevant, impactful, and purposeful content to capture attention and create value across digital channels.”

Nathan McDonald, Group CEO and co-founder at We Are Social added: “Social media’s influence on how we live our lives continues to grow. From shopping to connecting, entertaining to searching, it’s inextricably linked to our habits both on and offline. It’s interesting to see internet use becoming more discerning – while being online is still incredibly important in our everyday lives, people rightly want to make sure it’s time well spent. Marketers and creators will have to work even harder to attract and retain people’s attention in 2023 – it’s never been more important to understand online culture in order to reach people in a relevant way.”

Market research in 2023 – what should we expect?
By:
0

By Frédéric-Charles Petit, founder and CEO, Toluna

2022 has been another turbulent year for businesses around the world. Despite having emotionally moved on from COVID-19, the ripple effects of the pandemic continue to severely impact businesses. Between supply chain disruptions, skyrocketing inflation, political instability, and the war in Europe, it really is a time like no other in our recent history.

Confronted with major disruption after major disruption, brands have been forced to adapt to their ever-changing circumstances—continually adjusting their offering to align with what consumers want and when they want it. And it is only by understanding evolving consumer sentiment and market understanding through research—tech-driven, agile, scalable research—that businesses can truly keep their finger on the pulse.

This year, technology has continued to propel the market research industry, as automation has accelerated innovation within the sector. As we look ahead to 2023, Frédéric-Charles Petit, founder and CEO of leading consumer insights provider, Toluna, shares his thoughts on what we can expect from market research next year….

The age of curation

In 2023, we will see research become fully immersed within business processes so that marketers and researchers within an organization can easily and rapidly generate real-time, accurate insights. To enable this, the key objective will be to create a platform specifically curated for research. To create this next wave of transformation in the market research sector, it will require the strategic combination of technology, audience segmentation, the proper use of data, and the intelligence of the research expert. Only then can we properly embed research into businesses to generate agile, relevant insights at scale.

Data ownership is front and center

Some have suggested that the age of the survey data is over. Well, not quite yet. Opinion has never been more important than it is now, especially at a time when the amount of data revealing attitudes of populations is higher than ever. But understanding ‘why’ is key and asking is the only way to know. Brands will increasingly rely on research to inform their decisions on the products and services they offer. Insights will also advise them on how to market their products to audiences and communicate with them accordingly—through the right medium at the right time.

In 2023, data ownership will become paramount. And not just for regulatory reasons, but because of the power of opinions. With news about many GAFA ring-fencing the access of data, we’ll see first-party data become increasingly important to decision-making. This is where the ability to ask questions and get answers is becoming critical again. It had never ceased to be the case, but it was trendy to say it had. By combining first-party data with consumer insights, brands can understand consumer intentions, behaviors, and attitudes without needing to rely solely on third-party data. And when you combine the two, you have a much greater picture of the the consumer. And whilst automation is vital, it cannot be successful without the right data feeding into it. The powerful strategic combination of technology and data access—curated by insights experts—will prosper the most in 2023.

Accessible, agile research fuels business growth

To make research fully accessible to everyone within an organization, it must be easy to interpret and understand. Thanks to continued innovations in research technology, organizations are not only able to gather more data, but they’re also able to easily analyze it and use those insights to inform strategic business decisions. Because of these continued advancements, brands will be able to fully integrate research into their daily marketing activities.

Through agile, on-demand research that delivers easily digestible data, organizations can better understand the changing sentiments of their consumers, now, and into the future. By doing this, they’ll be able to forge stronger customer relationships and adjust their product or service offerings to better suit their customers’ needs and reinforce the health of their brand.

It’s clear that we operate in a world where strategic five-year plans are less relevant. Organizations cannot plan the same way for the long-term when instability has become the norm; they can only prepare themselves to respond to a quickly changing environment. Rapid advancements in consumer insights technology present a big opportunity to businesses during such a challenging time through the provision of accurate market understanding—quickly and at scale. Although a new year will undoubtedly bring the unexpected, what we know for certain is the power research offers to brands as a strategic tool in growth through the delivery of high-value insights in real-time. And that, more than ever, the power of understanding people’s opinions can help shape the future.

Survey says marketers ‘remain defiantly creative’ in the face of recession
By:
0

Marketers feel more under pressure than ever to show their worth, with 84% agreeing that proving ROI has become more important as budgets are scrutinised and businesses tighten the purse strings.

That’s according to Optimizely, which surveyed 100 in-house marketing professionals across the UK and found that despite anticipated financial constraints, almost two thirds (63%) of marketers are determined to be even more creative in 2023 with half of those surveyed (50%) also looking to take more risks as we head into the new year.

Optimizely’s research also looked at the role of marketing in navigating economic uncertainty and how to market most effectively when budgets are cut.

Key findings include:

  • An overwhelming majority of marketers (91%) believe that it is important to invest more in marketing during a recession – with over half (55%) strongly agreeing with this statement.
  • Three quarters (76%) also believe that customer experience will remain an ‘essential’ part of their marketing strategy in the year ahead despite the uncertainty — more than any other factor.
  • Over half (55%) also believe that personalisation technology will be an essential element in their plans for reaching consumers during the tough times ahead.
  • Seven in ten (70%) marketers in the UK believe that their ability to experiment is being restricted as Britain enters what is anticipated to be its longest period of recession since the 2008 financial crisis.

Commenting on the findings, Optimizely’s CMO, Shafqat Islam said: “The bleak economic outlook undoubtedly puts marketers under more pressure to deliver more business outcomes under increased scrutiny h in 2023. But while cutbacks are being made, using data and insight to experiment and learn about customers will continue to play a vital role in brand growth.

“To limit creativity and experimentation at a time of economic hardship is a short-sighted approach based on the fallacy that experimentation does not provide ROI because it includes an element of ‘failure’. Rather, experimenting helps teams to fail fast, enabling them to quickly learn what does and doesn’t work in the new economic landscape. There are no failures, just learnings.”

“The right experimentation strategy helps marketers decide which creative ideas are, and aren’t, worth pursuing. This informed, creative strategy — combined with a personalised approach — will provide the backbone for marketers’ success in 2023, no matter what happens with the UK economy.”

Marketing agencies using technology to plug talent gaps
By:
0

77% of UK organisations, including marketing agencies, say they are finding ways for technology to do jobs formerly performed by people in the face of hiring and skills issues.

That’s according to new research from Rackspace Technology, which shows two thirds (64%) of UK companies are downsizing their staff, facilitated by technology, out of a necessity, with roles in customer service the most likely to be automated, as identified by 70% of business decision makers – followed by IT operations (62%), sales and marketing (57%), business operations (56%), and HR and admin (56%).

Half of UK companies (47%) have increased their IT investment due to the current economic climate, recognising the crucial role technology will play in improving performance and plugging skills gaps.

Almost two thirds (63%) are looking for technology to drive greater efficiencies, such as through moving infrastructure to the cloud, but the motivation for increased investment also extends to talent issues, with UK companies now investing 1.5 times more money in roles performed by technology than those performed by people.

This reflects the challenging labour market, with two thirds (65%) of companies finding it difficult to fill technical vacancies and a similar proportion (62%) struggling to retain IT staff.

This commitment to technology to combat talent shortages, and the consequent trend for an increase in IT investment, is also being driven by growing confidence in return on investment among senior leaders. Three in five (58%) organisations acknowledge established ROI on technology is encouraging further financial commitments.

It is also shifting the requirements for all staff, not solely those working in IT. The vast majority (85%) of UK companies now prefer non-technical staff to have a degree of technical proficiency, regardless of whether it’s a core element of the role. 

Mahesh Desai, Chief Relationship Officer, EMEA, at Rackspace Technology, comments: “In times of economic uncertainty, committing increased spend to technology is a risk a majority of companies simply must take in the face of technical skills shortages across the board.

“Not only can technology offset the reduced workforce available but it is a well-established way of driving business efficiencies as well – though only if used effectively.

“Three quarters (73%) of UK organisations also said cloud operations would be a key investment area over the next 12-18 months and while they have correctly identified an important tool in improving their operations, they will need to optimise these investments and strategies to feel the true benefit.

“It should also be noted that technology itself is very different to technical-proficient staff. A tough labour market and therefore necessity might be driving the growing role tech is playing within companies but finding and retaining capable staff will remain crucial for businesses to thrive.”

To download the full report, click here.