Melissa Rambridge
CEO, Sweethaven IT
Recession-fuelled technology tip: IT as a service
In the danger zone: Large systems upgrades
What technology solution or service are you betting on to help customers in the event of a recession later this year and why?
There is a need to finish the progress made during the COVID-19 pandemic and truly ensure more complete working adaptability. The threat being that recession often results in an IT spending squeeze. For businesses to achieve a fully adaptable work force in terms of size, capital outlay and cloud-based systems, we believe that hardware, software and support-as-a-service enables expansion or contraction at a fixed monthly cost per capita with costs or indeed savings appreciated. With this in mind, the spike of hardware investment is removed and the kit renewed every three years with the differential to getting a suitable grade of kit minimal.
For the education sector specifically, enablement of more cloud-based solutions for kit optimisation, such as harnessing of the Google platform with Neverware, will be key for continued true value for money.
Large capital outlay on systems upgrades tends to be the first to come under pressure
Conversely, are there any technology areas where you are anticipating a spending crunch?
As per above, large capital outlay on systems upgrades tends to be the first to come under pressure.
How do you feel an economic downturn will play out for the UK IT channel more broadly?
All costs including IT costs are normally examined with more zeal; costs for IT professionals have increased disproportionately to the rest of the market and increased costs to the customer will be resisted. This presents a number of possible eventualities that will need to be considered:
- Greater efficiency required for managed IT support, to allow a lower man hours input per capita
- Some might need to re-examine outsourced vs in-house or a combination that allows the lower cost per capita of support rather than the increased costs currently being endured
- Anticipate and forecast for flat YoY hardware sales and major system upgrades
- Perhaps a further examination and reduction of print, as these costs have probably already been reduced during the pandemic
- A greater supply of skilled IT professionals needed vs positions available
