HFS Data Viewpoint: In a work-from-anywhere economy, cybersecurity and cloud have become mission critical for doing business

The current pandemic economy has focused C-suite minds to prioritize the most pressing tech issues. HFS data, collected with the support of BluePrism, for our report ‘Your workforce has changed – Now the C-suite must adopt a NATIVE automation mindset’, found when you work from anywhere, access and security become mission-critical.

• In aggregate, the No1 priority across our respondents – representatives of 400 of the Global 2000 enterprises – is cybersecurity. The driver being the instant impact of the need for business continuity when offices closed and teams worked from home. And the emerging work-from-anywhere economy suggests this will remain top of mind.
• Cloud is the only technology to make the top three in every region. Accessing everything, from documents to processes, to each other, in the cloud has become an undeniable business essential. Its prioritization alongside cybersecurity speaks to the hand-in-glove fit between the two when building out a business that can work securely when teams are distributed.
• 5G makes the top three in both North America and Australia/New Zealand. But Europe lags behind all other regions for the rollout of 5G, according to research carried out on behalf of the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association. Only 1/3rd of EU countries had assigned bandwidth to 5G by spring this year. 5G is all but taken for granted in some parts of Asia (93% coverage in South Korea, for example). In Asia the top-three focus has moved on, to include AI.

The HFS Bottomline. To continue to grow businesses through the pandemic, leaders accepted that their organisations must be built in and on the cloud.

They learned that with appropriate cybersecurity they could be as secure as ever. These have become the 2021 basics of doing business. Now leaders must adopt the NATIVE automation mindset to take fullest advantage of the cloud native organizations they are building. Read this report to learn more.