Published on the 09/09/2013 | Written by Hayden McCall
Mobilising management is the key objective of IT investment plans for 2013 says iStart’s annual investment survey. The mid-market is investing in mobile business intelligence while small business is doing more with less in the cloud.
After several years of flat ICT spend the major driver of ICT investment, particularly in the mid-market, is mobilising business data into the hands of management. While the mid-market is forecasting an 15 percent increase in investment, overall spending is predicted to grow by just 1.3 percent to NZ$363 million the results of iStart’s 2013 ICT Investment Intentions Survey show. Mobile apps and mobile devices for staff are again amongst the most popular investment area with 49 percent of organisations planning to buy devices for management and staff. This is understandably matched with a significant increase in plans to invest in mobile applications. Smartphone apps are planned by 39 percent of respondents, up from 25 percent in 2012. Business intelligence, reporting and analytics or ‘big data’ solutions retain their high level of interest with 46 percent intending to spend on BI applications – similar to the 45 percent last survey. The results reinforce the trend toward making access to corporate data available to staff wherever they are and on whichever device. (For more on the big data mobility trend click here) BI and mobile apps were seen as the second and third most pressing investment after the core requirements of upgraded infrastructure hardware (servers, network equipment etc). ERP and financial systems, the traditional leader, come in at fourth place, with 37 percent looking at making investments in new or extended ERP solutions. Smaller businesses are looking to reduce costs – those with less than 50 staff are forecasting a reduction of 9.6 percent. Several cited moving to the cloud, and the associated reduction in Microsoft licensing costs as the reason. The 424 organisations responding to the survey represent a NZ$363m share of Australasia’s estimated NZ$7b ICT annual capital investment market. The overall sentiment among respondents was a sense that many were on the brink of significant changes in the way they deliver IT. Several respondents commented that the pace of innovation in cloud applications is creating a struggle to keep up. General Manager of iStart, Hayden McCall, commented on the impact the cloud is having on all businesses, “across all software categories, businesses are looking first to the cloud, and many are in a holding pattern as the vendor shake out determines the winners and losers. Most businesses will welcome the maturing of cloud options in which they can confidently invest. “Cloud uptake is slowly moving away from concerns on security and internet outages towards the functionality of the applications available and the resilience of both the architecture and the contract with the provider – the cloud is maturing.” A big thank you to all those who responded to the survey – the winner of the smartphone will be announced in the eNewsletter so keep an eye out. … Why, when, and how to invest wisely… Making the business case… The benefits of incorporating a data warehouse when upgrading your ERP… Make sure financial reporting doesn’t get left behind in your ERP implementation… What to expect for the future of payables…FURTHER READING
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