Connectivity challenges in new markets top IT leaders’ growth concerns in 2023

Nearly half (46%) of IT leaders said they are planning to deliver global growth in the next 12 months by expanding into new markets, with even more (47%) stating that establishing and managing global connectivity is the single most critical factor in ensuring success when it comes to that global expansion, according to research from Expereo.

Expereo’s Enterprise horizons report surveyed more than 650 CIOs in global enterprises with over $500m annual revenues across Europe, the US and APAC.

Tthe findings revealed that 42% of boards view global connectivity as a business asset that is critical to growth. When asked about the biggest concern to delivering global growth in new regions, connectivity came out on top. Just over a third (37%) of CIOs said that effectively establishing connectivity in new regions was one of the major challenges in their role, with similar percentages rating it was a major challenge for their organisation. Some 35% felt that their organisations’ business ambitions were being constrained by legacy connectivity.

Other challenges to global growth included skills and resource retention (35%), complicated physical and geopolitical infrastructure (33%), regulation and compliance (32%), and legacy systems and local knowledge (both 31%).

When asked about where their organisation saw the biggest opportunity for growth, North America (37%) led the way, followed by Western Europe (32%), Eastern Europe (26%), Northern Europe (25%) and South America (25%). 

Virtually all (96%) global respondents felt confident that they have the right technology in place to deliver business growth globally. South America (29%), Central America (27%) and North America (26%) are the regions that CIOs think will be the most challenging to do business with.

When asked what they would consider to be the biggest challenges to delivering growth into new regions, security environment (35%), skills and resource retention (35%), and complicated physical and geo-political structure (33%) came out on top. Over half (51%) of global respondents have a positive commitment from their boards on increasing budgets to deliver global growth.

“Opportunistic businesses will constantly find new ways to effectively and efficiently expand into new markets and deliver growth on a global scale. Evidently, connectivity is key to managing global offices and keeping them operational, keeping staff members and customers connected and engaged, and ensuring the smooth rollout of cloud and SaaS strategies, as well as hybrid, remote and flexible working practices,” commented Expereo CIO Jean-Philippe Avelange.

“However, connectivity can be complicated, particularly when managing it across multiple different regions. It will therefore be vital for businesses to acquire the right skills and local market expertise to implement and optimise internet connectivity to reduce downtime and improve workforce efficiency.”