As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it's important for businesses to stay ahead of the curve in order to remain competitive and efficient. One area where technology is having a significant impact is in the office.
In fact, despite heightened fear of a recession and increased belt tightening among many organizations, Spiceworks Ziff Davis (ZWZD) annual report on the State of IT found that IT spending will be prioritized over the course of the year.
Roughly half (51 percent) of organizations said they plan to increase IT budgets in 2023, with only 6 percent planning to cut back on technology spending. Breaking down IT budgets, hardware is the primary spending making up 30 percent of the average company’s budget, followed by software (28 percent), hosted and cloud-based services (23 percent) and managed services (18 percent).
With that in mind, in this blog we’re going to discuss some of the top office technology trends we will expect to see in 2023. For a more detailed discussion on some of the top business IT trends in 2023, download our free guide by clicking the below image.
1 - Laptops are the primary area of spending
Laptops and desktops are expected to account for the biggest portion of IT budgets in 2023, although spending may take a slight dip following the initial surge in laptop buying at the beginning of the pandemic.
As flexible work environments become an increasingly more important asset for companies in Ontario to attract and retain top talent, we believe that spending on laptops will continue to be an IT priority for the foreseeable future - ensuring employees can work from wherever they are based, seamlessly.
2 - A growing number of organizations will look to outsource their office IT requirements
While hosted and cloud-based spending was still a higher percent of the average company’s IT budget than managed services in the Spicework’s report, the former has actually dipped over the past couple of years while the latter has increased.
In fact, managed IT services spending will account for 18 percent of IT budgets in 2023, up from 15 percent in 2020. This is likely a sign that organizations are becoming increasingly reliant on experts to manage their technology stack.
The report said: “Amid the return to offices, there is now a need to manage both on-premises and cloud infrastructure, and organizations are likely right-sizing their environments to support their employees wherever it makes most sense. Additionally, after businesses spent the last couple of years modernizing, many are likely now turning to services to help them maintain their new technology stacks.”
3 - Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are becoming increasingly prevalent in the workplace, and 2023 will see even more widespread adoption of these technologies. AI can be used to automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry and analysis, freeing up employees to focus on more important work. Common use cases of AI include data analytics, process automation, cybersecurity and marketing.
Meanwhile, ML can be used to improve decision-making by analyzing large amounts of data and identifying patterns that humans might miss. Together, these technologies have the potential to significantly increase productivity and efficiency in the office.
4 - Increased spending on cybersecurity software
Cybercrime has become way more advanced in recent years. The worst news is that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting small and medium-sized businesses due to their weaker security systems.
According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, small businesses are target number one for criminals and represented 43 percent of all data breaches - often because their false sense of security leads them to not put proper defenses in place.
Due to this, small and medium-sized businesses in Ontario are likely to increase their cybersecurity spending in 2023, implementing more robust strategies and investing in modern cybersecurity technologies.
5 - Businesses will look to refurbished technology over new hardware
The Spiceworks State of IT 2023 report found that the five most anticipated IT challenges in 2023 were supply chain disruption issues (48 percent), increased product costs (46 percent), shipping delays (42 percent), limited product availability (42 percent) and chip shortages (38 percent).
To counter these challenges, we expect many businesses will look to invest in refurbished technology instead of buying brand new. Refurbished technology can help businesses save money, access hardware immediately and avoid supply chain disruption.
Interested in learning more about what IT trends can help grow your business in 2023? Get in touch with OT Group today. Our team of technology and IT specialists would love to answer any questions that you may have.
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