Over the past quarter, we have been surveying IT decision makers across the US and UK to determine the increased financial demands of the pandemic. We have now published our results, with the survey revealing some truly sobering facts for the business world.

• 85% of IT decision makers have seen tech spend increase since the pandemic, but only a third report tangible value from new investment

• 62% are experiencing technology drift - defined as an increased gap between what companies are trying to do and what they actually achieve - as a result of spiraling costs

• Technology spend for IT decision makers has increased by an average of 43% since the pandemic began

The most common reasons for increased spending were revealed as onboarding new technology to support working from home and hybrid working (71%), rising technology costs (69%), and the introduction of new IT regulations (56%). 

However, when it comes to onboarding new technology, only 30% say that all new onboarded technology has brought tangible value, with 51% saying ‘most’ has. The majority (79%) say that all or most of the technology purchases over the past 24 months have been pre-planned, compared to 13% who say they have been last minute. The study identified that the UK is more prone to last minute investments than the US (17% vs 9%).

Our CEO Michael D'Onofrio commented: “The past two years have undoubtedly elevated the importance of technology, yet this technology drift – where there is a growing gap between what companies are trying to do and what they actually achieve – is causing significant problems. Despite spending increasing, not even a third of organizations can state it has delivered a tangible value.”

To combat these challenges and plan future technology and software purchases, 80% of respondents say their company has either onboarded (34%) or have plans to onboard (46%) an Enterprise Architecture tool. Diving deeper, the survey found that almost half (47%) onboarded Enterprise Architecture due to rising technology costs and 46% wanted to reduce the gap between IT and business stakeholders. Alongside this, 41% are bringing in Enterprise Architecture to simplify increasing complexities, and 39% say they need to gain greater visibility before moving to the cloud.

“We are currently in a period of significant friction, and organizations are needing to pivot frequently. Because of this, organizations need reliable core services that give them visibility, reliability and agility,” D'Onofrio continued. “It’s vital to have a tool that can give companies that visibility and insight. Without Enterprise Architecture, the challenges faced by IT teams will continue to get out of hand.”

The survey also revealed the IT roadmaps in place across the UK and US. It found that 95% have a technology roadmap in place to help make informed technology purchases. They most commonly plan for the next 6 (26%) or 12 months (37%). However, 14% have an 18-month roadmap in place and 19% for 2 years or even longer.

As Michael D'Onofrio states, these figures make clear the need for enterprises to become more agile, with better alignment between the aims of business strategy and IT spending. Enterprise Architecture, supported by a market-leading EA tool like iServer365, is the answer to the question posed by these figures.