Survey shows Brexit driving digital transformation and opportunities
Interoute has revealed the findings from its latest research.
In the survey of over 800 European IT decision-makers, the general consensus was positive for business confidence with 63 percent anticipating high growth in the year ahead.
Despite its turbulent outlook, the UK was only slightly behind the average with 61 percent. And the reason? Brexit.
As the political climate presents opportunities for those countries and companies that can move at pace, on average 70 per cent believed Britain leaving the EU was an opportunity for their company.
Business confidence surrounding Britain leaving the EU was highest in France (83 per cent) and Belgium (78 per cent) but lowest in Sweden (49 per cent).
The outlook surrounding Brexit is generally positive across Europe, however, a staggering 63 percent believe it could ultimately result in the disintegration of the EU – this sentiment was significantly stronger in Germany (78 percent), France (70 percent) and Italy (66 percent).
Brexit has already had a significant impact, with 95 percent admitting it had affected their decision-making processes.
"The UK and mainland Europe is in the middle of a period of political uncertainly, which is impacting IT decision makers across all sectors," says CTO of Interoute, Matthew Finnie.
"The more ambitious organisations see this as a time of opportunity where the right technology investments will result in high growth and an enhanced experience for employees and customers alike.
The research shows as organisations have been forced to respond to the changing business landscape, the majority of IT leaders have shifted their infrastructure choices to focus on driving more agility.
In total, 61 percent of European organisations are pursuing digital transformation projects. The UK follows closely behind the European average with 60 per cent of IT decision-makers investing in technology that allows them to continuously innovate and maintain a competitive edge.
Furthermore, the top drivers for digital transformation projects were cited as reducing costs by improving operations (46 percent), enhancing the employee experience through more mobile and social capabilities (45 percent) and improving the customer experience (41 percent).
Finnie says changing foreign policy politics, Brexit and even new GDPR regulations are forcing organisations to review the legal, financial and operational aspects of their business.
"Digital transformation is about creating an organisation that is flexible enough to respond to market and geopolitical changes," says Finnie.
"Organisations that move now to ensure they have the right digital infrastructure foundation in place will undoubtedly be the best placed to succeed in these uncertain times.
