British businesses investing to prioritise productivity in economic recovery
UK firms are investing in digital infrastructure to boost their productivity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research from Brother UK, the business technology solutions provider.
The findings, taken from interviews with 500 IT decision makers, show that more than eight in ten (84%) companies have ramped-up efforts to boost productivity since March, with more than half saying it is now vital to deliver cost savings (59%) and higher profits (54%) for their businesses.
Firms are ramping-up digital investment to tackle their productivity challenges, with IT budgets set to rise by an average of 13% over the next 12 months.
Respondents said that legacy working practices (35%), such as excessive meetings, and poor IT infrastructure (33%) are the biggest barriers businesses face.
Modern hardware, such as printers and tablets, (98%), collaboration software, such as project management platforms and video conferencing, (98%), and remote working tools, such as cloud-based technologies, (96%), top IT decision makers’ lists for technology that will deliver the greatest productivity gains.
Brother says that an average business of 250 employees could stand to save nearly 52,000 hours of workers’ time a year – worth an estimated £776,000 – just by implementing simple, cost effective updates across their IT operations.
The research analysed the potential time savings and value to employers when a number of typically manual IT practices were replaced with more efficient alternatives. For example, scanning straight to a secure network location, rather than a PC and then saving the file, to streamline and secure document management.
Andy Johnson, head of product and solutions management at Brother UK, said: “It’s never been more important for businesses to be firing on all cylinders and that means productivity needs to be at its peak.
“While it’s positive news that businesses are prepared to make investments that will boost the efficiency of their operations, we know productivity is often seen as a real puzzle. There are many simple, time-saving and cost-effective measures that can be implemented to streamline IT operations and processes to deliver tangible value.”
“Investing in reliable hardware and devices, such as printers, is an important starting point, coupled with other easy updates, such as making sure all infrastructure is properly secured and opting for software solutions that support remote working and end-to-end workflows. Productivity is all about working smarter, and together these smaller investments can deliver a big gain for businesses.”
