01732 759725 14 BULLETIN Poor technology is costing New research from Epson finds that amidst the backdrop of ever-increasing wait times and reduced access to healthcare, frontline healthcare workers say they are losing hours of time each week due to poor technology. The study, which surveyed 200 patientfacing healthcare workers in the UK, found that three quarters agreed that their already stretched teams are wasting time with poor technology, and a further 76% agreed that more should be done to tackle the issue. A core technology highlighted throughout the research was printers, with healthcare workers losing an average of 47 minutes a week to the slow or non-functioning printers. Two in 10 (18%) workers are losing one to two hours a week, while 6% are losing a shocking three to four hours a week due to printer issues. The research found that slow or nonfunctioning printers have led to delays or difficulties updating patient records (34%), making appointments (29%), discharging patients (19%) and even delays or difficulties in providing medication or treatment (15%) to patients in need. In fact, a quarter of those surveyed (23%) agreed that non-functioning or slow printers led to patients having less time with healthcare staff, with a further third (32%) stating that poor printers lead to more complaints from patients. While the research shows the impact poor technology can have on the efficiency of healthcare services, 80% of respondents agreed that despite the time being wasted by non-functioning or slow printers, little action is being taken. Meanwhile, a third (36%) also believe that money is wasted in their respective departments. www.epson.co.uk Growth opportunities for tech channel companies A new report from Sage entitled: ‘Small and medium-sized business demand for digital advisory services fuels IT channel growth’, surveyed 2,800 technology channel decision-makers globally, revealing a pivot from traditional sales to strategic, advisorydriven relationships. This transition is not only enhancing digital agility among small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) but is also opening up substantial growth avenues for technology resellers. The research highlights more than half (55%) of technology resellers have shifted their focus toward providing strategic advice and services, aiming to improve SMBs’ ability to swiftly adapt to market shifts, evolving customer demands, and new technological breakthroughs. Notably, 73% of IT resellers believe SMBs consider investing in digital agility as a high priority, seeing it as a way to drive business growth (29%), enhance competitiveness (24%), and increase efficiency (23%). Sippora Veen, VP Global Partner Marketing at Sage said: "These findings mark a significant shift within the channel industry. The move towards more personalised solutions and stronger customer relationships is revolutionising our support for SMBs.” www.sage.com AI chatbots Three fifths of Brits are now regular users of AI chatbots but a third harbour concerns about the rapid pace the technology is developing, new research by NordVPN reveals. Despite the widespread adoption of AI, with 60% of UK consumers now embracing it, a quarter of users remain suspicious and would not trust chatbots with their personal information. Among the ways that Brits are interacting with AI, a third (30%) are actively educating themselves on the technology so they can stay up-to-speed as it continues to advance into the future. Most people are still getting to grips with the technology and worryingly mistake AI content for the real thing. The vast majority of users (93%) lack confidence in their ability to spot AI-generated images — although 16% say they previously created AI images using a chatbot themselves. 18% of AI users say they use the technology in their free time for leisure, but more than one in eight fear their jobs could one day be replaced by it. This is while 13% admit to using chatbots to help them at work and 10% use it at school or higher education. https://nordvpn.com Enterprise GenAI struggles Despite growing interest and enthusiasm for GenAI, significant challenges are emerging that threaten the success of GenAI projects, according to a co-sponsored research report from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and Hitachi Vantara. Surveying 800 IT and business leaders across the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, the report finds that 97% of organisations with GenAI in flight view it as a top five priority. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say that they have already identified at least one use case for GenAI. The report found that several areas are driving companies to GenAI, as well as giving them pause. In terms of what’s driving enterprise investment in GenAI, the most cited use cases centred around process automation and optimisation (37%), predictive analytics (36%), and fraud detection (35%). When it comes to some of the top concerns and challenges being faced, more than four in five (81%) of respondents agreed on concern around ensuring data privacy and compliance when building and using applications that leverage GenAI, while 77% agreed that data quality issues needed to be addressed before accepting the results of GenAI outputs. www.hitachivantara.com Report SMBs demand for digital advisory services fuels IT channel growth Channel companies can help SMBs boost growth by harnessing AI technology and becoming more digitally agile, according to new international research by Sage. SMBs demand for digital advisory services fuels IT channel growth Don’t forget to vote in five vendor of the year categories. Visit www.printitawards.co.uk/vote 2024
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