Colt research reveals optimism around tech investment

Colt Technology Services has published insights uncovered by new research of over 1000 IT leaders in 12 countries across the US, Europe and Asia. The results revealed optimism in tech budgets as businesses invest in their IT infrastructure to deliver growth plans. Almost 8 in 10 (79%) expect to increase their tech budgets over the next one to three years, with IT leaders in Hong Kong (92%), Singapore (89%) and Japan (84%) the most optimistic about budget growth. Improving security (40%) and adding AI and machine learning capabilities (31%) top the list of priorities for investment. One in four businesses is using IT infrastructure to explore new revenue streams, rising to around one in three (31%) in Japan and 30% in the US.

The research highlights growing concerns around the environmental impact of IT networks. One in five (20%) named ‘understanding the environmental impact of their IT infrastructure’ in their top three priorities and around the same (19%) named reducing the environmental impact of their IT infrastructure as a priority. Spain was the most committed to understanding (28%) and reducing (26%) environmental impact.

Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer, Colt Technology Services said, “The way businesses think about digital infrastructure has fundamentally changed: it’s now front and centre for generating growth and securing new revenue opportunities. The planned investment highlighted by our research reflects this mindshift. At the same time, it's heartening to see sustainability become a priority for IT leaders as they look to reduce emissions and minimise the environmental impact of their networks.”

Key trends and behaviours uncovered by the research include:

Businesses are exploring emerging tech and quantum – one in four (25%) rate implementing emerging tech as a priority rising to 30% for Hong Kong, 29% for Spain and 28% for Singapore. 15% name ‘understanding the impact of quantum on my business’ in their top three priorities, but this is higher among some countries in Europe, named by 22% in France, 21% Italy and Sweden/Denmark, and one in five (20%) in the UK.

Enhancing flexibility is critical – 23% are focused on improving network flexibility. The Netherlands is the region most likely to name this a priority (29%) followed by Hong Kong (28%). Germany is the most focused on enabling a remote workforce at 30% - 10 percentage points above the global average

They continue to roll out the ‘building blocks’ of digital transformation - an average of 22% name cloud migration as a top priority, but this rises to 28% for both Japan and France and drops to 13% for Spain and 15% for Italy, while new collaboration applications are key. One in five (20%) name this as a top priority, rising to 24% for the US.

The US and Europe are most likely to integrate new geographies into their network – 21% in Sweden and Denmark, one in five (20%) in the US and the same percentage in France have their sights set on integrating new regions into their enterprise networks

Spain is most likely to cite ‘supporting M&A’ as an IT priority, with almost one in five (19%) citing this against an average of 14%

Colt also analysed the survey results by industry, finding:

One in four travel, transport and logistics companies named understanding (24%) and reducing (25%) the impact of their IT infrastructure on the environment as key priorities. Respondents from the industry were more likely than others to prioritise new collaboration and communication apps at 31% - 11 percentage points higher than the industry average - and the most likely to cite ‘integrating new geographies into my enterprise networks’ as a priority cited by nearly one in four (23%)

Financial services IT leaders were the most likely to name ‘Adding AI or machine learning capabilities’ as a priority, at 36%, and focus on improving network flexibility at 29% against an industry average of 23%

Almost one in three (30%) manufacturers prioritise using IT to explore new revenue streams

Buddy stated, “It’s a privilege for us to carry out this research across so many countries. The exciting results give us a deeper understanding into our markets and they’ll inform and inspire us, as we support our global customers and partners through the next digital revolution”.