Inflation slows down IT projects, especially in large and medium-sized companies. We see this in a Beltug biennial survey, which also shows that a talent shortage is a problem and that little is taken care of in the metaverse.

The economic uncertainty in combination with inflation is making itself felt in the IT departments of large and small companies. This is the result of a survey conducted by Beltug every two years among 1,200 IT decision-makers from all types of companies in our country. This study included both sole proprietorships and corporations and everything in between. If we keep talking about a small company, then it has one to 49 employees. 50 to 199 is medium, anything above that is considered large by Beltug in his research.

Inflation and talent shortages are slowing

In large and medium-sized companies, the effects on IT projects are immediately noticeable. 60 percent of companies are taking action by postponing ongoing projects (34 percent), starting fewer new projects (15 percent), or speeding up implementation if it reduces costs (18 percent).

Not only does inflation affect the implementation of IT projects, the limited availability of suitable personnel also plays a role. Almost half of those surveyed stated that the shortage of skilled workers is noticeable. For 82 percent, this slows down IT projects. Automation is said to offer comfort (according to 34 percent) as well as training for existing employees (also 34 percent).

More cybersecurity, but not enough

Luckily there is no lag in Cyberland. Beltug notes that cybersecurity is becoming more important even in small organizations. They have invested significantly more in technology to protect against modern threats. Medium and large companies continue to invest in technology, but awareness training also plays an important role. Logically, because someone who unsuspectingly clicks on a malicious link remains one of the most important attack vectors for hackers.

However, the efforts made are not enough. No security specialist guarantees 100% protection and everyone agrees that sooner or later an incident can happen. However, hardly half of the respondents actually have a plan in case such an incident occurs. A plan of action can drastically reduce response time, costs and damage to reputation, but for many companies such a scenario does not yet exist.

That must be frustrating for security professionals who have been preaching the importance of such a plan for years. Beltug CEO Danielle Jacobs agrees: “We all know that the risk of a cyber incident is increasing. We therefore urge the business community to think about it and take the necessary steps to create an Incident Response Plan.”

metawat?

It is also striking that the level-headed Belgian does not allow himself to be seduced by Mark Zuckerberg’s marketing team. “We are finding that there is still very little interest in Metaverse, blockchain and VR glasses,” says Levi Nietvelt, Business Manager at Beltug. However, large companies are not against new technologies and fifteen percent already use VR glasses in the company. For small companies it is only two percent.

There is a clear difference in the adoption of new technologies by large companies compared to smaller ones. For example, 26 percent of respondents say they use IoT, but that percentage rises to 39 percent if we only look at large organizations. This also applies to AI: Ten percent and seven percent of small and medium-sized companies rely on AI technology, for large companies it is already a quarter.

We find that the interest in Metaverse, blockchain and VR glasses is still very low.

Levi Nietvelt, General Manager Beltug

Finally, we see some less surprising results. For example, Microsoft Teams is the most popular collaboration tool in our country, followed by Zoom. In third place are the solutions from Google. It is striking that only 61 percent of small businesses state that they rely on such tools. That is very little in the context of hybrid work. That’s 93 percent, and 95 percent for medium-sized and large companies.

Logical results with room for quick improvements

Beltug’s research shows that there is a significant difference in the IT approach of small companies versus large and medium-sized companies in our country. Beltug also notes that in smaller companies, digital transformation is mainly a name for an organic process, while larger companies usually have a concrete strategy.

That a lack of people with the right experience delays IT projects is an international phenomenon. The impact of inflation is also surprising. The study shows a positive evolution in terms of cyber security, although it remains alarming that so few companies report having a cyber incident plan in place. Such a plan is a near-free initiative that will dramatically increase any organization’s cyber maturity and resilience.

We are also curious about the development of the use of AI in companies. Beltug itself assumes that usage will double within two years. When you consider how quickly companies like Microsoft, Google, Zoom and Salesforce want to integrate AI into their solutions, that doesn’t seem like an exaggeration.