Cloud and security are main IT spending areas this year

New cloud-based solutions (56 percent) and data security (50 percent) are the key areas of investment for IT departments in the UK this year, according to research.

A study of 400 senior IT decision makers from medium and large organisations in the UK, France and Germany has established the main spending priorities of firms.

Cloud solutions are seen as a key investment priority as they enable the simple management of data, documents and applications employees use on their devices. Through cloud computing, businesses are also able to use IT on demand, enabling them to upscale or downsize their computing provision in line with business growth.

The research, commissioned by Toshiba, highlights the challenges IT staff face in the midst of a growing proliferation of devices and the rise of the Internet of Things, and how these trends are driving new and increased expectations from both employees and the boardroom.

This ranges from the management of software upgrades – which respondents from the UK (36 percent) and Germany (39 percent) regard as their biggest challenge when managing multiple devices at scale – to protecting their business from security threats which can make their way through the increasing range of touchpoints being used.

The results also show that multiple threats to IT security are leading businesses to carry out frequent reviews, with 69 percent of UK businesses surveyed reviewing their security strategy at least once a year, compared to 62 percent of French organisations and 63 percent of German organisations.

Poor battery life (37 percent), the heavy weight of laptops (35 percent) and poor connectivity (34 percent) are the three top complaints faced by senior IT decision makers in the UK, demonstrating that businesses must focus on investing in devices which are built with business use in mind, said Toshiba.

@AntonySavvas