95 per cent admitted they found advances in technology confusing and complex, with businesses taking a ‘head in the clouds’ approach towards IT safety and innovations such as Cloud computing.
74 per cent thought modern IT systems needed more specialist support, yet 66 per cent said economic pressures had led them to slash their IT budget in the past year.
95 per cent acknowledged that reducing technology spend could damage their business in the medium to long-term.
The study was carried out to find out the key IT issues affecting commerce today and questioned companies in industries ranging from finance and telecommunications, to retail and property.
97 per cent cited security as their top IT priority, with 96 per cent naming resilience and reliability. Only 14 per cent felt it was important to keep abreast of innovation.
Ten per cent of those questioned rated Cloud computing as important, with 99 per cent believing the risks associated with the internet-based platform outweighed the business and commercial advantages.
Only 22 per cent who took part in the research felt global cloud computing would be commonplace in businesses in five years time.
Companies from sectors including education, government and marketing also took part in the research. 36 per cent said they brought in external expertise to handle their IT needs, with 30 per cent using an in-house IT department and 34 per cent combining a mix of both outsourced and in-house.
Lifeline IT founder and director Daniel Mitchell said: “Despite technology playing an increasingly important role in business growth and development, companies are failing to get to grips with some fundamental basics around security and innovation.
Further information:
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