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Everything-as-a-service is
next big cloud opportunity
The role of the IT channel in delivering
support, maintenance and consulting
services is becoming more important
than ever, claims 451 Research, as
the physical infrastructure delivered
through IT distribution has become
invisible to end users and as
suppliers have moved from tin-shifting
commoditised IT to supplying new
kinds of cloud services.
The research organisation says the
biggest opportunities for vendors and
providers are to deliver high automation,
rapid provisioning and services that
address complex enterprise needs while
retaining high-touch delivery, and to
focus on specialist regional and vertical
markets.
It also identifies growing demand
for managed security, managed cyber-
disaster recovery, managed networking
services and managed hosting, as the
‘as-a-Service’ model evolves beyond
IaaS, PaaS and SaaS to include new
kinds of cloud-based services.
Office workers prefer video
to voice
Real-time information sharing and
video communication are key to driving
employee engagement, with 72% of
office workers in the UK and USA
agreeing that video calls are more
effective than voice calls for work-
related communications.
Based on a survey of 2,000 workers
in organisations with 500+ employees,
the Generation Now report from Kollective
reveals that 64% trust a message more
if they can see the person speaking and
60% find visual content easier to digest
and understand than written documents
and communications.
Almost half (46%) say they don’t have
either the time or the inclination to read
long emails or documents.
Dan Vetras, CEO of the enterprise video
technology solutions provider, said: “Today’s
workers place a high value on seeing
the people they are communicating with
across their organisation. With increasingly
dispersed and mobile teams, engineering
that face-time and real-time connection is
critical, particularly with executive teams…
Video communication not only means that
information is transmitted in an accurate
and a timely way, but ensures workers
are communicated with openly to benefit
employer-employee relations.”
IT jobs up 4% year on year
The number of advertised IT vacancies in the UK rose by 4% in the second quarter of
2017 compared to Q2 last year, according to the latest Robert Walters UK Jobs Index.
Demand was highest for specialists in cyber security and development.
Ahsan Iqbal, Associate Director, said: “The recent Wannacry cyber attack has once
again highlighted the importance of robust cyber security systems, and specialists in this
area are highly sought after by employers. In addition, ongoing digitalisation projects from
employers across a range of industries are driving demand for developers.”
He added: “IT professionals specialising in these high demand areas are in a strong
position to command high salaries and generous benefits packages, with many receiving
multiple job offers simultaneously. Employers looking to secure top calibre professionals
need to move rapidly when recruiting, in addition to taking a progressive approach to
work life balance initiatives.”
Cost deters half of firms from investing in IT
Manufacturing companies to drive out paper
Four out of 10 manufacturing companies
(41%) plan to increase investment in
wearable tech over the next five years in
a bid to stay competitive and rid complex
supply chains of pen & paper and other
manual processes, reveals a new survey
by Zebra Technologies.
More than half (56%) of manufacturers
still rely on pen and paper to track
manufacturing steps, but by 2022, this
figure is expected to fall to 24% as the
number of fully connected factories
doubles.
The Manufacturing Vision Study
from
Zebra Technologies, based on interviews
with 1,100 manufacturing companies,
finds that firms across EMEA are set to
increase investment in new technologies,
like Internet of Things, RFID, wearables
and automated systems, to bring goods
to market faster (43%), to address
burgeoning supply chain complexity (41%)
and to improve connectivity throughout
their facilities (40%).
By 2022, 64% of manufacturers expect
to be fully connected compared to just
43% today.
The top areas for investment are mobile
(55%), voice direction & recognition
(49%), location tracking in real-time (47%)
and wearables (41%).
Obstacles to further investment include
the complexity of these technologies
(49%), budget constraints (43%) and
integration with legacy systems (39%).
Almost half of firms (48%) are putting
off investing in technology for their
sales teams because of concerns about
its cost, claims CITE Research in a new
report sponsored by SugarCRM.
The
SalesTech Report
also highlights
a lack of confidence in installing new
technology, with 34% of respondents
worried about the complexity of introducing
new tech systems and 20% concerned
about their lack of skill in using new tools.
One third of the 400 sales executives
surveyed cite ‘resisting change’ as the main
reason for avoiding investment in new
technology
Even so, the research shows that
63% of UK companies each year spend
at least £1,200 per sales representative
on technology, including smart phones,
laptops, CRM systems and web meeting
platforms; 22% spend at least £2,400 per
sales employee.
CRM remains the most frequently
deployed tool for sales teams, with 70%
of organisations saying they use the
technology.
QUALITYDRIVESASMARTERPLANTFLOOR:
2017 MANUFACTURING
VISION STUDY
MANUFACTURERSARECONNECTINGOPERATIONSTOGAIN
GREATERVISIBILITYAND IMPROVEQUALITYASSURANCE
