Covid-19: The business issues the board wants IT to address

As well as establishing the increasing influence of the technology leader, the

survey also identified the business issues the board�s of organisation�s want IT to
address.

1. Workforce enablement � in previous years, this has tended to be a mid-ranking

priority for technology leaders, but it has jumped to the top three after the onset
of Covid-19 (from eighth place before the pandemic) driven by the mass move to
remote working. Operational efficiency and customer engagement keep their top
positions, but the purpose of these have changed in the light of Covid-19.

2. Digital transformation � for almost half (47%) of IT leaders Covid-19 has

permanently accelerated digital transformation and adoption of emerging technology
(AI, ML, blockchain and automation).

3. Emerging technologies � small scale implementations of artificial intelligence

(AI) and machine learning (ML) have jumped up from 21% before Covid-19 to 24% now,
a significant jump in a period of only a few months.

4. Marketplace Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) � This is the big winner compared to

2019. Large-scale implementations more than tripled from 7% in 2019 to 23% this
year. One in six organisations put one in place in the last 12 months.

Covid-19 drives biggest surge in technology investment in history

Covid-19 has caused one of the biggest surges in technology investment in history,
according to Harvey Nash/KMPG technology leadership survey. Read here

The rise of remote working and the new way of working

The survey found that remote working is here to stay, with 86% of IT leaders having
already moved a significant part of their workforce to remote working, and 43%
expect more than half of their employees to work from home after the pandemic.

As a result of remote working, 70% of IT leaders reported an increase in

collaboration between the business and technology teams and over half (52%) said
that this has created a culture of inclusivity in the technology team.

Work location and remote working has risen to become one of the five most important
factors for engaging and retaining key technology talent during, and after, Covid-
19.

IT leaders will need to rethink how they attract and engage their employees in a
world where physical location is no longer a prime asset.

Diversity still an issue

The levels of women in IT is still an issue, with the gender diversity of
technology leaders remaining broadly unchanged from last year�s survey at around
11%.

South America is a leader is a leader in this area compared to the rest of the
world, with 16% of its technology leader�s female.

The continent has 60% more female IT leaders than the UK (10%). This survey
suggests this could be interpreted as the reward for being a growing hub for female
STEM entrepreneurs and actively running multiple programs to get women into the
world of technology.

Despite the low level of women in technology leadership roles, 24% of IT leaders
feel that their organisation is successful at promoting diversity, and this has
improved trust and collaboration in the technology team (67%), access to the right
skills (56%) and their teams� ability to innovate (53%).