"Without a doubt IT spend is on the up, however, companies should remain frugal and ensure that IT spend in 2012 is not only about investing in new and innovative technology products and services, but rather that businesses should pay attention to - and thus spend a larger portion of their budgets on - integrating their existing technology systems," says Malcolm Rabson, MD of Dariel Solutions.
"Through the integration of technology, businesses can gain a clear understanding of which technology platforms are in place, what gaps currently exist in these systems, what needs to be done to close these gaps and determine the required technology for their business models. This not only can save businesses costs, but also streamlines and optimises processes where information is better consolidated through the use of technology."
This can certainly be seen as a more viable and cost effective option when looking at technology investments for 2012 and considering all the talk around the possibility of another economic crisis, businesses still need to remain conscious around cost-saving and economic business management.
Dariel Solutions believes that 2012 will see more businesses turning to automated processes, as software becomes the electricity of an organisation. Such processes allow for the creation of a more efficient business, as well as save costs. In line with the trend of automated processes, this year will likely see more spend in areas such as Business Intelligence (BI), where businesses owners will be turning to data extracted from automated processes to make more strategic business decisions.
Although the move towards everything as a service was a prominent trend towards the end of 2011, it will remain a journey that the IT services industry takes throughout 2012. Yet it will be a technology concept that is evolutionary and not revolutionary as it is often projected. As technologies such as virtualisation and cloud computing continue to grow, so the industry will slowly start to migrate to everything becoming a service, however what will be important to take note of in 2012 will be the finer issues that arise as this concept sees growth, such as the impact it will have on business productivity.
