The research, conducted by NTT Ltd, found the trend was driven by an “explosion of endpoints” into remote environments coupled with an uptick in BYOD, and that businesses were looking for technical expertise to help navigate the challenges.
Damian Skendrovic, executive vice president, managed services Go-to-market at NTT Ltd., said: “During these challenging times, organisations move through a series of phases and are prioritising security as an initial response and recovery mechanism.
“They want more than a supplier. And instead, look for true partners to help them do the smart things well. Service providers need to help them adapt now, but also help them bounce back quickly when the business environment reignites,” he added.
Indicating a likely uptick in SD WAN deployments, the report also noted that 43% of respondents rated SD WAN as the leading technology project under consideration as businesses refocus on end user transformation.
With a growing number of businesses planning to outsource more IT functions than they “insource” over the coming 18 months – from 23% currently, to 45% by late-2021 – Skendrovic said the flexibility of outsourcing models will be key.
“One thing we saw in the report was a move from traditional outsourcing to smart sourcing, so it’s all about longer term relationships, working for long term partners who are flexible, supportive and prepared to offer consumption-based services they can ramp up and down as opposed to following contracts to the letter of the law,” Skendrovic added.
The report engaged 1,250 business and IT leaders and was conducted across 29 countries in five regions.
The news follows a recent report from Gartner, which said tech CEO were caught “off guard” by the Covid-19 pandemic, with as many as 55% failing to begin preparations for the potential economic downturn a modern pandemic brings.
