Interop Digital 2020: How Will You Spend Your 2021 IT Budget?

Omdia’s Director for IT Data Tools and Insights shared the results of a global research report that shows shifts in technology trends by industry. The survey is also timely in reflecting the impact COVID-19 and the global pandemic has had on IT investments.

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

December 8, 2020

3 Min Read
Interop Digital 2020: How Will You Spend Your 2021 IT Budget?
A session from Interop Digital 2020 discussed insights from an Omdia research survey covering, among other things, 2020 and 2021 IT budgets.

Editor’s Note: Interop Digital 2020 took place from October 5-8, 2020 and we’re highlighting some of the panels and keynotes of interest to IT professionals. Check out the recap below,  and if you like what you see, you can register to view this session – and more than 50 others – on demand here.

How have technology trends shifted in the last year and how does this shift affect IT investment priorities for 2021? In the Interop Digital 2020 presentation, “How Will You Spend Your 2021 IT Budget?” Omdia’s Director for IT Data Tools and Insights, Daniel Mayo, broke down some research insights that can answer those questions. (Omdia is a research firm owned by ITPro Today’s parent company Informa.)

This panel provided an overview of a global survey of more than 6,500 IT executives in medium- and large-sized enterprise companies and focused in on how technology trends have shifted by industry – including the impact of COVID-19 and how that is affecting investment priorities for 2021.

The target executive for the How Will You Spend Your 2021 IT Budget survey was someone in the office of the CIO who understood the business strategy, IT priorities and allocation of the company budget for 2021.

The survey data was compiled from data across the regions of Europe (31.2%), Americas (29.6%), Asia & Oceania (25.9%), and the Middle East & Africa (13.3%). Industries included financial services and retail (41.4%), public services (25.5%), manufacturing and "other" (18.6%), and telecoms and media (14.5%).

Here are some highlights from key results that were shared in this session from Interop Digital 2020.

Respondents were asked, “How do you expect the COVID-19 health crisis to impact your organization’s revenue for the years 2020 and 2021?”

Sixty-five percent of representatives from the healthcare and life sciences industry indicated that they expected a slight increase in revenue growth with more than 20% of that group looking at significant increase. This is exactly what you would expect around a health crisis like COVID-19.

This group was followed by telecom and media (+40%) and professional services (35%). The government (24%) and education (19%) industries were the lowest.

The overall indication beyond the top companies’ revenue growth expectations is that COVID-19 is going to have a negative impact across many industries and related revenue.

Respondents were asked, “Did your organization’s IT budget increase or decrease from 2019 to 2020 and what is your expectation for 2020 to 2021?

Once again, in the healthcare and life sciences industry, 57% of respondents reported an increase between last year and this year. More than 20% reported an increase of over 6%, while approximately 35% reported an increase between 1% and 5%.

Large decreases in IT budget were seen from the education, government as well as the construction and real estate industries.

Customer Experience

Mayo concludes the presentation by making a point about the relative importance of transforming the customer experience across these industries. Within the survey, organizations considered the customer experience to be the least important concern right now during COVID-19 and over the next 18-month period.

Mayo counters this response by indicating that consideration should be given to transforming the customer experience when it comes to sales. Since COVID-19 has severely hampered travel for many, which means fewer in person opportunities to pitch products and services, then there should be some effort to change that experience to take advantage of virtual meeting and presentation options for the foreseeable future.

About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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