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BULLETIN : TRENDS
6
Process efficiency main
benefit of CRM
Improved process efficiency is the most
popular reason to deploy Customer
Relationship Management (CRM)
software, being cited by 84% of SMEs
surveyed for a Benchmark Study by CRM
solutions provider Maximizer Software.
Almost one third (31%) of the
300 European SMEs questioned also
mentioned strategic business growth as a
reason to adopt CRM.
The main benefits of a CRM system are
thought to be centralisation of customer
data (cited by 87% of respondents) and
improved data quality and value (70%).
Maximizer Software says CRM has
become the ‘go to’ platform for delivering
customer experience and is increasingly
being deployed as a company-wide
repository for customer intelligence used to
drive growth throughout the business.
To improve knowledge of how CRM is
used in SMEs, Maximizer Software has
produced a Benchmark Study,
Measuring
Value and Success from CRM
.
IT industry executives are looking
forward to growth of 4.1% in 2017 as
businesses continue with their digital
transformation and build on investment
they have already made in cloud,
mobility, data and connectivity.
This is one of the key findings from
CompTIA’s
IT Industry Outlook 2017
report,
which also highlights the 12 trends that it
believes will impact the IT industry in 2017.
These are:
TECHNOLOGY
1
The Tools of the
Cloud Era Emerge.
New elements built
from a cloud mind-set
will play larger roles,
challenging users to
integrate the pieces into
a comprehensive digital
strategy;
2
Security Gets
Worse Before It Gets
Better.
Many firms
remain unprepared for
a cyberattack despite the large number of
high profile security breaches;
3
Data Teams Bridge the Gap between
IT and Business.
Data specialists will move
from backstage to centre stage to harness
the power of organisational data;
4
IoT Transforms Physical Environments
and Social Conventions.
The Internet of
Things will be a major disruptor as more
physical objects gain intelligence and
connectivity.
CHANNEL
5
New Faces in the Channel Test
Traditional Go-to Market Approaches
. The
line-up of sources for technology solutions
is expanding as non-traditional entities get
into the business.
6
Mandate Coming to Retool Partner
Programs.
What was once valued – sales
spiffs, discounts and rebates – are no
longer as relevant in today’s services-based
market.
7
An Ageing Channel Community
Hastens Need to Find New Blood.
An
estimated 40% of the channel universe
expects to retire over the next decade.
Where are their successors?
8
Opportunity Spikes in Cloud
Management Arena.
The number of cloud
companies and services continues to
proliferate, giving customers more options
and creating more opportunities for
channel partners.
WORKFORCE
9
Workers Push the Boundaries of
‘Bring Your Own Collaboration’.
It’s a
balancing act for employers – the benefits
of greater productivity and employee
satisfaction vs. security risks.
10
The Blended Workforce Takes on New
Meaning.
‘Match-making’ employment
platforms create new options for employers
and full-time, temporary and contract
workers.
11
Debate Intensifies over Technology’s
Impact on Employment.
New questions
arise over the use of artificial intelligence,
virtual assistants and other knowledge-
based systems.
12
Skills Gap Grows in Scope and
Nuance, Forcing Organisations to Rethink
Workforce Strategies.
All signs point to
a widening skills gap in many areas. But
many employers still lag in hiring and
professional development best practices.
CompTIA’s
IT Industry Outlook 2017
is
based on an online survey of 530 industry
executives in the United States (310),
United Kingdom (122) and Canada (98).
The free report is available at
.
SMEs embrace UC
Almost two thirds of SMEs plan
to significantly change their IT
infrastructure to accommodate unified
communications (UC), claims Jabra.
In a survey by the headset company,
40% of SMEs said they plan to add UC
capabilities to their existing voice telecom
infrastructure in the next two years. An
additional 20% plan to replace traditional
systems with full UC systems.
Jabra says having the right UC tools,
such as noise-cancelling wireless headsets,
can help tackle common problems
experienced by phone-based employees:
36% of those surveyed by Jabra complain
of interruptions from colleagues and
34% say noise levels in their working
environment are too distracting.
Two thirds of SMEs say they take
account of employee recommendations
when buying new UC technologies, with
32% describing employees as the primary
influencers.
Digitisatiion drives growth for
IT companies
Cloud drives rise in indirect sales growth
Almost two thirds (62%) of technology distributors and vendor partners expect
indirect sales to outpace direct sales, according to the
Insights Into 2017
report from
The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), an industry consortium of tech
distributors collectively responsible for
$130 billion in annual worldwide sales.
More than half (55%) of those questioned
anticipate double-digit growth through
distribution in 2017, with cloud, security
and the data centre ranked as the top three
solution categories. Three quarters (78%)
expect distributors to develop new business
around vertical market solutions.
Insights Into 2017
can be downloaded
from the GTDC Research Centre.
Copyright(c)2017CompTIAProperties,LLC,AllRightsReserved|CompTIA.org|[email protected]
TECHNOLOGYTRENDS
TheToolsoftheCloudEraEmerge
SecurityGetsWorseBeforeItGetsBetter
DataTeamsBridgetheGapBetweenITandBusiness
IoTTransformsPhysicalEnvironmentsandSocial
Convention
CHANNELTRENDS
NewFacesintheChannelTestTraditionalGo-to-
MarketApproaches
MandateComingtoRetoolPartnerPrograms
AnAgingChannelCommunityHastensNeedtoFind
NewBlood
OpportunitySpikesinCloudManagementArena
WORKFORCETRENDS
WorkersPushtheBoundariesof‘BringYourOwn
Collaboration’
TheBlendedWorkforceTakesonNewMeaning
DebateIntensifiesOverTechnology’sImpacton
Employment
SkillsGapGrowsinScopeandNuance,Forcing
OrganizationstoRethinkWorkforceStrategies
Thefutureisnow.With increasingfrequency,thisassertionseemstofind itswayintocommentary
addressing the state of technology. Recent advances have made the leap from what is typically
characterizedasinterestingorcooltowhatcanonlybedescribedasmind-blowing.Pickyourscience
fictionreference–whetherTheJetsons,2001:ASpaceOdyssey,orMinorityReport,tonameafew,and
it’snothardtoseewhatwasonceconsideredfuturistictechnologyallaroundus.CompTIA’sscanofthe
technologylandscapepointstoanotheryearofinnovation,growth,andofcourse,afewsurprises.
IT INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 2017
RESEARCHREPORT
January2017
Anotablemilestonewasrecentlyattained.Forthefirsttime
ever,thefivemostvaluablecompaniesintheworldwereall
technologycompanies.Whilestockmarketvaluationsshould
be taken with a grain of salt, it did mean technology
supplanted the behemoths of the energy, finance,
healthcare,andmanufacturingsectors.
Byjustabouteverymeasure,technologycontinuestoshape
theworldaroundusinevermoreinterestingandsometimes
unsettling ways. With the groundwork of cloud, mobility,
data and connectivity laid, the year ahead will see
evolutionary advances on many fronts. Digital business
transformationremainsadrivingforceforsmallandlarge
enterprisesalike.Thoseplayingcatch-upwillfacegrowing
andpotentiallynewformsofcompetitivepressures,while
thoseontherightpathwillhavetheopportunitytoexplore
advancesinareassuchasvirtualreality,artificialintelligence,
advancedanalytics,theinternetofthings,andinevitably,a
fewunexpectedbreakthroughs.
Complementing the innovation pipeline is a sense of
optimism heading into 2017. CompTIA’s Q1 IT Industry
Business Confidence reached a new high, signaling an
economyonsolidfootingandapositiveoutlookamongIT
industryexecutives.
CompTIAprojectsglobalITindustrygrowthof4.1percentin
2017.Ifthisgrowthmaterializes,itwillpushthe$3.4trillion
globalITindustrypastthe$3.5trillionmark
1
byyear’send
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Projected
Revenue Increase
Through
Distribution
45%
0-10%
Growth
20%
31% +
Growth
13%
21-30%
Growth
22%
11-20%
Growth
More than half of vendor channel executives expect
double-digit growth in 2017
(October 2016 surveyof70+ IT vendor channelexecutives)
55%
