Daisy: Customers keeping a continuing eye on costs

The mantra of “doing more with less” is likely to remain the approach customers are looking to take not just for 2023 but well into next year.

Ongoing concerns around the economy is driving requests from the channel to help implement technology and services that will reduce costs.

Research from Daisy Corporate Services has shone a light on the current customer priorities, revealing that 42% of enterprises are prioritising reducing costs over the next year as a result of economic uncertainty.

More users are moving towards establishing a digital business model to help get into that position and that ambition, along with a wish to keep driving revenues, remain a priority for many firms. Some of that desire to improve processes is not just driven by cost cutting but also an ambition to make operations more efficient, with a large number complaining that their current systems inhibit progress.

The focus on security is continuing, with customers acutely aware that any digital moves must be protected. A quarter of respondents indicated investing in that area was a priority for the year ahead and a similar number viewed fending off cyber attacks as one of the main challenges.

“There is no doubt that it is a challenging landscape for many businesses right now, with economic concerns and heightened cyber security threats adding pressure. Any moves made by enterprises to introduce new technologies and digital models must be carefully considered. It’s crucial that investments are underpinned by robust cybersecurity that safeguards the business – as the financial and reputational damage of a security breach could be costly,” said Lyndsey Charlton, COO at Daisy Corporate Services.

The positive conclusion of the Dairy findings indicated that customers would continue to invest in technology over the year ahead, with many wanting to ramp up their digital transformation efforts.

As well as digital transformation and security another area that should see some investment will be unified communications, with more customers looking to embrace fresh technology options. Replacing legacy systems, with the PTSN switch-off looming, is a motivation to upgrade comms systems.

It was also clear that customers are keeping a close eye on the ESG credentials from their chosen channel partners and suppliers. A significant number (41%) of enterprises stated that the ESG strategy of their partners was “very important” to them.

“Enterprises today require a considered modernisation strategy to ensure new technology upgrades truly deliver benefits for the organisation, while also helping them to meet their ESG goals. This underlines that it is essential businesses have the right blend of technology with a mix of internal and external skills,” said Charlton.

There have been other pieces of research issued on MSP Day and the TechTarget/Computer Weekly IT Priorities Survey for 2023, which both underlined the increasing reliance customers are putting on managed service providers to help solve their problems. Because of a lack of in-house talent and the pressure to innovate and keep budgets down, the channel has become an increasing source of support for customers.