The majority of businesses in the European Union will be increasing their IT budgets next year in order to better support remote working practices, expected to continue in 2021.
According to a new report from 3StepIT, almost two thirds (61 percent) of businesses in the EU will up their spending on IT next year, with Norway leading the charge with a 37 percent increase, while the UK lags behind with a 16 percent increase.
Predictably, Covid-19 was the top driving factor for more than half of businesses polled on the report. They are looking to spend extra money to facilitate social distancing and increased home working next year.
3StepIT claims that the average IT budget among EU businesses was approximately $3.61 million this year, which would mean more than $1m of additional investment in technologies across the old continent in 2021.
For Carmen Ene, 3StepIT CEO, businesses have mostly been successful at responding to the challenges of remote working, but the pressure is now on IT managers, to demonstrate the value of every new expense.
“Alongside more flexible working solutions, businesses are now looking to introduce different purchasing models that demonstrate a lower total cost of ownership, accelerate digital and workplace transformation, and offer greater flexibility in IT procurement,” she said.
“The increasing popularity of subscription-based models, technology lifecycle management and transition to the cloud is testament to this trend.”