Covid-19 Lockdown a Reality Check for State of IT Infrastructure of Businesses: Wipro Survey As per 'State of IT Infrastructure 2020' report released by Wipro, about 81 per cent enterprises worldwide said they are re-skilling their existing workforce to increase digital penetration

By Shipra Singh

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Pixabay

As businesses worldwide continue to grapple with the challenges posed by Covid-19 breakout and the ensuing lockdowns, the writing is on the wall for them—digital transformation is the key to sustenance. It is not surprising then that about 81 per cent enterprises reported they are re-skilling their existing workforce to increase digital penetration, as per "State of IT Infrastructure 2020' report released by Wipro.

While over the years more and more organizations have upgraded their IT infrastructure to get future ready, the pace was still slow. But, disruption caused by Covid-19 will escalate this transformation, the report states.

"IT infrastructure in 2020 has the potential for seminal transformation. Emerging digital technologies and processes such as automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G, IoT, edge and ambient computing, DevOps, AIOps, and crowdsourcing are firing a new wave of innovation. This report shows that the IT infrastructure practice is coming to the party but not universally as it should. The COVID-19 lockdown and the ability of their IT to respond to the emerging situation was a reality check for many organizations; similar organizations operating in the same industry were faced with vastly different grades of challenges."

The average business spends on IT are estimated to be around 3-6 per cent of total revenue, as per the report. What's interesting is that 43 per cent respondent enterprises said their IT infrastructure spend budget is used for transforming the business, suggesting considerable scope for innovation.

The report underlines a variety of compelling reasons that are driving this increase in IT spend budget. The need to upgrade outdated infrastructure was the number one reason (75 per cent) for organizations to increase IT budgets. "The average age of IT assets in an organization is over five years, which implies that the assets are ready for a refresh or an upgrade," the report said. Increase in digital initiatives (60 per cent) and security concerns (52 per cent) are the other two major reasons driving increase in IT budgets.

On being asked which tech areas do they plan to increase their IT spending in the next three years, data centre cloud emerged as the single-largest expense account for 79 per cent enterprises. "This is a good indication as it means IT infrastructure costs can be controlled and aligned with business needs in the future," the report noted. About 59 per cent also plan to spend more on software and tools used for operations.

Interestingly, as much as 85 per cent of respondents said they plan to either decrease or keep spends at the same level as before for Service Desk, indicating spends on Service Desk may plateau as automation and intelligence drive support, allowing organisations to scale support without adding to costs.

The online survey was conducted across UK, North America, Asia Pacific Region, Continental Europe, Middle East and Latin America. Respondents to the online survey included IT Managers, IT Directors, Senior VPs, Vice Presidents, Assistant Vice Presidents and CEOs, CIOs, CTOs and COOs, among other senior executives from businesses operating in banking, IT services, insurance, industrial and prcess manufacturing , utilities, oil and gas, communications, securities and capital markets, among other industries.

Shipra Singh

Entrepreneur Staff

Freelance Journalist

Now a freelance journalist, ealier steered the Wealth section on the Entrepreneur website, covering everything finance. Previously a personal finance reporter at The Economic Times and Outlook Money.

Related Topics

Buy a Franchise

Learn the Secrets of Running 20+ Businesses as a Side Hustle — Finding and Nurturing Your 'STIC People'

Explore the critical importance of choosing the right franchise manager and the innovative 'STIC' approach.

Marketing

Google Is About to Delete Inactive Accounts. Here's How to Avoid A Massive Gmail Bounce Rate.

Google will start deleting inactive accounts soon. For businesses like yours, that means many Gmail contacts will probably bounce. Here's how you can avoid that – and keep your business emails landing in the inbox.

Business Ideas

This Teacher Sells Digital Downloads for $10. Her Side Hustle Now Makes Six Figures a Month: 'It Seems Too Good to Be True, But It's Not.'

When one middle school teacher needed to make some extra income, she started a remote side hustle with no physical products and incredibly low overhead. Now she brings in six figures each month, and offers courses teaching others how to do the same.

Leadership

Great Leaders Must Be Great Coaches — Here's How to Become One

To be a successful leader, you must become an expert in how to help others grow and develop. Here's a research-driven approach for entrepreneurial leaders to coach and effectively develop their teams.

Business News

Virginia Woman Hits $1 Million Lottery Jackpot — Her Second Win That Week: 'I'm in Shock'

Jennifer Minton won $50,000 in mid-October, but that was just the start of her good fortune.

Business News

This Man Won a $22 Million Lottery Jackpot, But He and His Wife Won't Tell Their Kids — Here's Why

An anonymous caller named "John" shared his story on a recent episode of "The Ramsey Show."