Commitment is key
Economic pressure means every investment needs to show clear value. Some industries need better visibility into their returns. Despite their plans to accelerate IT transformation, around one-quarter of Higher Education, Energy and Utilities and Healthcare and Life Sciences organizations haven't built the measurement systems to accurately track ROI from their digital workplace services.
Leaders can't invest with confidence when they can't see results. More than 1 in 10 (12%) Energy and Utilities organizations find it harder to secure leadership buy-in now than they did 12 months ago.
But not all industries struggle with getting leadership buy-in. Only 2% of Financial Services organizations, for example, find this to be a challenge, despite having already invested significantly in their digital workplace services. These organizations have improved performance against all business metrics, and their leadership appears convinced of the value of digital workplace services, making it easier to secure further budget.
Which solutions have delivered this advantage? Notably, over two-thirds (68%) of Financial Services organizations have increased spending on built-in generative-AI-supported service desk solutions in the past 12 months. Generative AI enables 24/7 support for employee IT issues, relieving the burden on overstretched IT teams. This increases workforce productivity in a cost-effective way. Other priority investments include sustainable workplace managed services, IT field services and experience-level agreement (XLA) monitoring and analysis.
In comparison, Healthcare and Life Sciences organizations are most likely to reduce investments across the board, fueling a vicious cycle of underperformance.
Financial Services organizations invest aggressively across digital workplace solutions
Q: Thinking about the past 12 months, how would you describe your organization's investment in each of the following digital workplace solutions? (Increased investment).
The link between increased investment and performance is clear. But aside from a lack of leadership buy-in, there are several other barriers to more extensive spending. Most organizations are grappling with macro issues, such as economic uncertainty and how to balance digital innovation with data privacy. But there are also industry-specific obstacles.
For example, Manufacturing and Technology, Media and Telecommunications organizations are holding back spend due to legacy system limitations, while struggling industries such as Higher Education and Healthcare and Life Sciences cite competing priorities for IT budgets as a barrier. Overcoming these challenges requires a tailored approach that balances transformation progress with internal pressures.
