Half of strategic it projects delayed by lockdown according to new research

By Brigette Currin 3 minute read

Despite Extreme Challenges Employers Make Highly Successful Switch to Home Working

Over 90% of Workers Give Their Employer a Four or Five Star Rating for Effectively Enabling Home Working, While Productivity Improves

Half of UK businesses are facing delays in the delivery of strategic IT projects, with one-in-ten now “considerably behind plan”, according to research released today by IJYI. Despite these challenges, 92% of respondents give their employer either a four or five star rating for their effective implementation of home working technology.

The research*, carried out in August 2020, revealed the impact of lockdown on UK businesses, their employees and use of technology. Nearly three quarters (73%) of respondents said their organisations were immediately able to adapt processes to enable remote working. Half were forced to deploy new technologies, such as collaboration and video conferencing services, with 74% reporting that these investments had proved very reliable.

Research highlights include:

  • Half of UK businesses are facing delays in the delivery of strategic IT projects, with a one-in-ten now “considerably behind plan”
  • 92% give their employer either a 4 or 5 star rating for their implementation of home working technology.
  • 73% said their organisations were immediately able to establish remote working.
  • 94% said productivity had either improved or was unchanged. Only 6% said it was worse.
  • Only 4% of businesses say that home working will cease completely post-lockdown.
  • 38% of businesses have spent more on IT since the onset of COVID-19.
  • 47% said their organisation was not currently thinking about or has established a digital transformation strategy.

Rewards and Risks

Despite widespread speculation that remote working would negatively impact productivity, 94% said it had either improved (42%) or was unchanged (52%). Only 6% said it had got worse. As a result, the vast majority of businesses plan to retain home working, with only 4% stating it will cease completely in a post-lockdown setting. A massive 98% said that technology had enabled them to work effectively during the pandemic.

The impact of the business response to COVID-19 on technology strategy has been significant. Despite the economic impact of the pandemic, 29% of businesses have spent more on IT since the onset of COVID-19, while exactly half of organisations believe their technology strategy is now in a better position than it was before the onset of the pandemic. No respondents said that it had become worse, with 44% stating that it was ‘unchanged’.

However, 47% said their organisation was not currently thinking about or has established a digital transformation strategy. Just under a third (32%) say they are focusing on digital transformation, either in the planning or implementation stages. A fifth (21%) didn’t know the status of digital transformation within their organisation.

“When lockdown was announced, the stakes for UK businesses could not have been higher, and this research reveals how effectively they have adapted to the challenges brought about by this unprecedented situation,” commented Chris Pont, CEO of IJYI. “But businesses should also be careful to take this experience as a signal to focus on digital transformation, not only to prepare for the unexpected, but to place them in a stronger competitive position in an environment that is always changing.”

*Research conducted online with a group of 107 business and Information Technology professionals in August 2020.

To download the research report, click here.