Friday, March 29, 2024

Four Key Takeaways on the Future of Business Software

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When it comes to the future of your business, technology will continue to be a focus. But who will be making the decisions, what will executives be focusing on, and what are the top products they are looking at? A recent study from the Business Software Education Center asked just that, presenting an infographic and sentiment guide conducted in Summer 2019.

The 2019 C-Suite Software Sentiment Study, a survey conducted by the Business Software Education Center, asked over 500 executives about their thinking, planning and prioritizing for the increasingly mission-critical subject of software and technology, with the following topics driving decision making:

Cloud, Mobile, and Digital Transformation Initiatives atop Company Strategies

One key finding of the report was that cloud adoption and migration were the most commonly cited priorities for c-levels. Twenty-one percent of respondents ranked it in first place, followed by mobile solutions at 20%. 

The continued uptake of the cloud will ultimately free up the IT department from the boring and repetitive tasks they’ve long had to participate, helping push the rest of the organization forward.

Increased Technology Investment on the Way

According to the Business Software Education Center report, nearly every company sees their software investment either staying the same or increasing in the coming year—with more than half expecting an increased investment.

Paired with the affordability of the cloud, even those companies who expect their investment to stay the same are getting more now than they have in the past. Today’s software landscape is more strategic than ever, with solutions continuing to evolve. Rather than legacy licensing, in which support schedules end and updates are a hassle, today’s companies can leverage the cloud for years and decades and get updates twice annually for as long as they7 use a product.

The Most Important Cloud Products? Accounting and Billing

The evolution of the cloud has changed the way companies look at software. No longer are implementations extremely risky and costly, which in turn makes the cloud a reality for every software platform.

This is no more obvious than in answering the question, “what are the most important technologies for your business,” to which respondents listed the following on a five-point scale:

  • Accounting and Financial Management Software: 3.5/5
  • Invoicing and Billing Software: 3.5/5
  • Cloud Management and Storage: 3.4/5

Finance Catching up to IT as Top Decision-Maker

While it’s well-known that information technology leaders are often the key decision makers when it comes to technological advancements at a company, the cloud has democratized the software selection process. Today, more finance and operations executives are influencing the buying process.

According to the Business Software Education Center report, the following three areas are providing the most influence regarding software decisions:

  • Information Technology: 30%
  • Finance/Accounting: 18%
  • Operations: 17%

Conclusion

Software is a serious subject for c-level execs heading into the second half of 2019. This is evident from the fact that more than half plan to increase their software and tech investments in the coming year. If you’re looking to learn more about where the rest of the world is heading, you can learn more from our infographic and by downloading the entire study at https://businesssoftwareeducationcenter.org/resources/c-suite-software-sentiment-study-2019/

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