THE WAY FORWARD IN 2021 IS FOR

ORGANISATIONS TO INCREASE , RATHER THAN

DECREASE , THE SPEED OF THEIR DIGITAL

BUSINESS INITIATIVES AND

FUND THOSE

INITIATIVES BY DIVERTING FUNDS FROM OTHER AREAS

OF IT .

Every month , we pose industry experts a question pertinent to the issues of the day . This month . . . .

S THE NEW year draws

With the COVID-19 pandemic having accelerated Digital Transformation strategies , enterprises and SMEs alike will be keen to identify technology trends and areas to channel their investment for the year ahead .

And according to Gartner , IT spending in EMEA is forecast to total US $ 1.075 trillion in 2021 , an increase of 2.8 % from 2020 .

This comes after the research and advisory company predicted IT spending in the region is expected to decline 6.5 % in 2020 .

“ The combined effects of Brexit and the COVID-19 public health interventions will cause IT spending in EMEA to decline in 2020 ,” said John-David Lovelock , Distinguished Research Vice President at Gartner .

“ Before the pandemic , most organisations moved their digital strategies forward at a steady pace . The way forward in 2021 is for organisations to increase , rather than decrease , the speed of their digital business

ACCORDING

TO GARTNER , IT SPENDING IN EMEA IS FORECAST TO TOTAL US $ 1.075 TRILLION IN 2021 .

initiatives and fund those initiatives by diverting funds from other areas of IT .”

Spending across all segments is expected to decline in 2020 . However , in 2021 , as organisations start reconfiguring their business and operating models for a new reality , companies will increase their spending levels and shift the areas they are spending in .

How EMEA organisations will procure technology in 2021

Organisations have to respond to the public health interventions caused by COVID-19 , Gartner have said .

One part of those efforts will be in spending on devices 2021 . Devices spending by EMEA organisations will move from a decline of 15.1 % 2020 to an increase of 1.7 % in 2021 .

Thin and light notebooks spending is on pace to grow 10 % and desktop-as-a-service platforms spending will achieve a steep increase of 60 % in EMEA in 2021 .

SMEs are facing the challenge of balancing a changing working environment with the need to spend on digital solutions to elevate their brand services and operations . It can be difficult to know where to begin .

To help , we asked industry experts to tell us which technology areas they think SMEs should be prioritising in 2021 , in this month ’ s Editor ’ s Question .

20 intelligent

. tech

Intelligent SME . tech