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The annual report on IT budgets and tech trends

BUSINESS TECH BLUEPRINT FOR THE COMING YEAR.

In part two of the 2019 State of IT ©, Spiceworks deconstructed which emerging tech trends organizations are adopting next year. We surveyed more than 700 business technology buyers across North America and Europe to learn more about the current usage and future adoption plans for AI, blockchain, advanced security solutions, and more.

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Key findings:

  1. Emerging tech (e.g., AI, edge computing) adoption rates among large enterprises are up to 10 times higher than in small businesses.

  2. A quarter of large enterprises use blockchain technology, a figure expected to jump to more than 50% by 2020.

  3. Financial services organizations are the earliest adopters of most emerging tech, while government is behind the curve.

  4. End-user security awareness and testing tools are considered the most effective solution for preventing security incidents.

THE FUTURE IS NOW.

With business technology rapidly advancing, companies stand to gain a competitive edge if they can stay current on IT trends that drive efficiencies. Perhaps that’s why by 2020, 61% of organizations plan to use gigabit Wi-Fi networking technology, 57% expect to use some form of IT automation, 48% plan to adopt IoT devices, 39% expect to use converged or hyperconverged infrastructure, and 38% plan to utilize application-isolating container technology.

Although many companies intended to adopt AI, VR, and 3D printers last year, the schematics have changed, or at least plans have been delayed. Current adoption rates for VR and AI technology haven’t budged much year over year, particularly in small companies.

This could be the result of some businesses initially being overly optimistic about future tech adoption, but later opting to focus on updating their infrastructure and software instead. After all, as we know from our recent State of IT Budgets report, the need to refresh outdated IT infrastructure is the number one reason IT budgets are increasing in 2019.

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Operating hardware beyond the end of service life can hinder a company's ability to innovate and take advantage of newer technologies due to a lack of support and poor performance on the older equipment. A balance between innovation and longevity is essential, but it varies from company to company based on the industry and company size.”

Ian McClarty

President & CEO, PhoenixNAP Global IT Solutions

This year, we also looked at emerging trends like edge computing, serverless computing, and blockchain. Adoption currently stands at 15% for both edge computing and serverless computing, but fewer organizations have adopted blockchain-enabled technology (9%).

However, adoption rates vary dramatically by company size. For example, 25% of large enterprises with 5,000+ employees are already using blockchain-enabled tech and an additional 31% plan to by 2020. Additionally, 32% of large enterprises with 5,000+ employees are using edge computing, and an additional 33% plan to adopt it by 2020.

BIG
ENTERPRISES ARE LEADING THE FUTURE OF TECH

With the exception of IT automation and gigabit Wi-Fi networking, smaller orgs aren’t adopting emerging tech trends as quickly as their larger counterparts. In some cases, such as with AI, adoption rates in large enterprises are 10 times higher than in small businesses.  
Large enterprises typically have more advanced use cases and needs influencing their adoption of emerging technologies, such as the need to connect multiple sites and manage complex infrastructures.  Larger businesses also have access to more resources — both money and workforce — and are more likely to boost IT budgets next year, allowing them to simultaneously renovate outdated infrastructure and invest in innovation.

Adoption of technology trends

TOTAL, REGIONAL, AND BY COMPANY SIZE

Currently Use
Plan to use in 12 months
Plan to use in 1-2 years

TOMORROW'S TECH

BY INDUSTRY

Adoption of emerging tech also varies greatly by industry. For example, the financial services industry boasts the highest current adoption of IT automation (43%), serverless computing (23%), AI technology (21%), and blockchain tech (21%). If all goes according to plan, it might only be a matter of time before blockchain technology becomes mainstream in this industry. An additional 22% of financial services organizations plan to adopt blockchain-enabled tech by 2020.

43%

IT AUTOMATION

23%

SERVERLESS COMPUTING

21%

AI TECHNOLOGY

21%

BLOCKCHAIN TECH

IT AUTOMATION

SERVERLESS COMPUTING

AI TECHNOLOGY

BLOCKCHAIN TECH

While it’s still too early for most people to see, we may look back on blockchain’s impact on business and find it was similar to the internet. Businesses that neglect to adopt it in a timely manner will have trouble keeping up, just like businesses that were slow to jump on the internet.”

Kyle Fournier

Crypto Analyst at CryptoManiaks

The education industry enjoys the highest current adoption rate of 3D printers (37%), while healthcare has the highest adoption rates for IoT (41%), converged or hyperconverged infrastructure (27%), and container tech (24%). And the IT services industry has the highest adoption rate of edge computing (29%).

On the other hand, government organizations, often resistant to change, have the lowest adoption rates for most emerging technologies, including Gigabit Wi-Fi networking, IoT, edge computing, serverless computing, AI, blockchain tech, and 3D printers.

3D
PRINTING

3D PRINTING
Adoption of technology trends

INDUSTRY

Currently Use
Plan to use in 12 months
Plan to use in 1-2 years
AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY

AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY

ITDMS WEIGH THE IMPACT OF FUTURE TECH...

Among emerging tech trends, more than 40% of IT decision makers foresee IT automation technology having the biggest impact on their business, while about 30% believe IoT technology and gigabit Wi-Fi networking will make the biggest mark.

At the same time, less than 15% of IT decision makers are sold on VR, blockchain, or 3D printing technology having the biggest impact on their business. However, the opinions vary by company size. For example, IT decision makers who work at large enterprises (5,000+ employees) expect AI, IoT, containers, and blockchain-enabled tech to have a much bigger impact on their business.

Automation, especially with a machine-learning component, can help businesses save resources and get a clearer picture of their ROI on capital and marketing investments. Most businesses have large pools of data that they underutilize, but once an analytics system is set up, it can have a major impact on teams’ effectiveness throughout the business, not only in IT.”

Briana Brownell

Founder and CEO of PureStrategy
Technology trends expected to have the biggest impact on businesses
IS THAT A THREAT

IS THAT A THREAT?

In addition to staying up to date on the latest tech trends, IT departments are also tasked with protecting corporate networks and data by implementing the latest security solutions, processes, and policies. When it comes to emerging security tools, anti-ransomware solutions, employee security training tools (e.g., end user security testing), hardware-based authentication (e.g., security tokens), and breach detection systems have the highest current adoption rates. Fewer organizations are using deception technology (e.g., honeypots), security solutions powered by AI, and IoT security solutions.

But similar to the emerging tech trends, large enterprises are adopting most emerging security solutions at a higher rate than other organizations. In fact, we know from our State of IT Budgets report that increased security concerns is the top reason enterprises with 5,000+ employees are boosting budgets in 2019. Currently, these large enterprises have the highest adoption rates for deception technology (29%), cloud workload protection (39%), browser isolation (43%), and IoT security solutions (40%). And an additional 27% of large enterprises plan to adopt IoT security solutions in the next two years, which makes sense considering 86% of large enterprises (5,000+ employees) plan to use IoT tech by 2020.

Adoption of emerging security solutions

TOTAL, REGIONAL, AND BY COMPANY SIZE

Currently Use
Plan to use in 12 months
Plan to use in 1-2 years

TOMORROW'S SECURITY

BY INDUSTRY

When looking at the future of security across various industries, adoption rates also vary. Financial services organizations have the highest current adoption rates for most emerging security solutions, including employee security training tools (52%), user behavior analytics tools (34%), cloud workload protection (28%), browser isolation (27%), deception tech (25%), and AI-powered security solutions (24%). This is likely due to the highly regulated, sensitive, and confidential nature of financial data.

Perhaps because of recent cautionary tales of WannaCry shutting down entire hospitals in the UK, healthcare — another highly regulated industry — has the highest adoption rates for anti-ransomware solutions (56%) and hardware-based authentication (49%). However, they also have the lowest adoption rates of breach detection systems (23%) and deception technology (10%).

BY INDUSTRY

That said, the government also deals with sensitive data, but these organizations have the lowest adoption rates for many emerging security solutions, including employee security training tools (36%), browser isolation (9%), and security solutions powered by AI (7%). This is concerning since some government-funded organizations, such as police departments, have fallen victim to ransomware in recent years.

ADOPTION OF EMERGING SECURITY SOLUTIONS

INDUSTRY

Currently Use
Plan to use in 12 months
Plan to use in 1-2 years

SECURING FUTURE TECH...

When it comes to preventing security threats long-term, which emerging security solutions are most effective?

The majority of IT professionals (59%) believe employee security training tools (e.g., end user security awareness and testing) is the most effective solution to prevent security incidents, followed by breach detection systems (37%) and anti-ransomware solutions (37%).

When surveying by company size, IT pros have vastly different opinions in many cases. For example, 71% of IT pros working in businesses with less than 100 employees believe employee security training tools are the most effective, compared to only 35% of IT pros in large enterprises with 5,000+ employees.

While it’s evident there’s no single “cure all” to every security challenge, IT pros in large businesses believe some security technologies work better at scale. For example, IT pros in large businesses are more likely to believe AI-powered security solutions and cloud workload protections are effective in preventing security incidents.

IT decision makers also have differing opinions by geographic region. For example, in North America, ITDMs believe employee security training tools and user behavior analytics solutions are far more effective than their European peers.

Criminals are turning out new variants of ransomware so quickly that anti-virus products can’t keep up. This suggests that truly effective anti-ransomware measures will have to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to more adaptively detect and stop ransomware attacks, especially the previously unknown ones. AI and ML enhancements will be able to spot ransomware by its behavior, not based on a prior encounter with it.”

James Slaby

Security expert at Acronis
Most effective emerging security solutions
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Conclusion

As we examine the blueprints that reveal future tech plans in 2019, it’s become apparent that small businesses are slower to adopt emerging tech than their larger counterparts. For example, with AI, blockchain, and edge computing, the big guys are poised to hop on new tech first.

But that’s not the only group looking to take advantage of the latest tech advances. Organizations in the highly-regulated financial industry are rapidly adopting emerging tech and newer security solutions to reinforce networks and protect data.

But what about blockchain, perhaps the most buzzworthy technology of the moment? With the exception of large enterprises and organizations in the financial services industry, the adoption of blockchain-enabled tech has been slow. However, some IT professionals believe the technology could eventually become a solid building block that can complement existing IT infrastructure.

Finally, if there’s one thing most organizations can agree upon across the board, it’s this: Educating end users is seen as one of the most effective ways to combat security threats ... now and into the future.

2019 State of IT: IT CAREERS

Check out part three about the tech career outlook and business hiring trends on the horizon!

Read Now

Details on the data

The Spiceworks survey was conducted in July 2018 and included 780 business technology buyers from organizations across North America and Europe. The distribution of IT buyers surveyed is nearly identical to last year’s survey, so the data reveals true market shifts.

Regions represented
Company sizes represented
Top titles represented