AVANT has revealed the results of the 2024 AVANT Research & Analytics State of Disruption Report.
The report looks at the transition businesses are making from legacy solutions to modern cloud-based offerings, including UCaaS, CCaaS, and security, as well as the role that the Trusted Advisor plays in influencing these technology purchasing decisions.
“Serving as a valuable tool and educational resource for our Trusted Advisors and their end customers, the State of Disruption Report paints a clear picture of the rapid pace of change being experienced across the technology sector,” said Ian Keininger, CEO and Co-Founder, AVANT. “Our research finds that while 92% of respondents across all industries have a plan in place and have started their transformation journey, only 28% of respondents say their companies have fully realized digital transformation plans, with one-third believing that their internal teams are less than qualified to plan, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot the full range of their IT infrastructure.”
According to the State of Disruption Report, some industries are farther along than others in their digital transformation initiatives. Three-quarters (75%) of financial services (including insurance) respondents said they “always want to be at the forefront of IT.”
In comparison, 64% of legal and high-tech businesses and 58% of retailers reported the same. When it comes to fully realizing their digital transformation goals, retail/e-commerce and consulting/business services are furthest along, with 28% reporting that companies’ goals have been met.
Adoption of cloud services is on the rise, with demand increasing for security solutions
The State of Disruption Report found that 78% of respondents use Trusted Advisors to procure cloud services, with the strongest growth areas being UCaaS and CCaaS.
Additionally, 68% of respondents said they look to Trusted Advisors for help selecting security solutions, including services provided by MSSPs.
- Unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS): Migration from premises-based systems to UCaaS continues, with an average of 58% of phones across all industries surveyed being cloud-based now compared to 47% before the pandemic. Based on survey results, that number is expected to rise to an average of 77% by the second quarter of 2024, with financial services taking the lead with the expected adoption rate to reach 8.24% in the next 12 months, followed by retail, high-tech, and construction, which are expected to see adoption increase another 9% to 11% in the next 12 months.
- Contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS): The increase in CCaaS adoption in the next 12 months is expected to be strongest in financial services, growing from 51% (pre-pandemic) to 63% when the survey was taken to 78% within the next 12 months. Retail/e-commerce follows closely, growing from 43% (pre-pandemic) to 63% when the survey was taken to a projected 78% within the next 12 months.
- Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS): IaaS adoption is expected to be strongest in high tech, increasing from 42% (pre-pandemic) to 64% when the survey was taken to an expected 77% within 12 months from now, followed by retail/e-commerce, which is projected to grow from 41% (pre-pandemic) to 63% when the survey was taken to 75% within 12 months from now. Few companies have yet to fully migrate to IaaS, with only 8% indicating they have done so.
- Colocation: The growth of legacy equipment in colocation as compared to staying on-premises is expected to be strongest in healthcare (including biotech), increasing from 50% (pre-pandemic) to 73% at the time of the survey, and forecasted to reach 79% in the next 12 months. In financial services, the use of colocation is expected to increase from 48% (pre-pandemic) to 63% at the time of the survey and is forecasted to reach 77% in the next 12 months.
“Regardless of the flavor of cloud architecture being deployed, adoption has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic levels. Yet, when asked why legacy on-premises solutions would still be in use, respondents unsurprisingly listed cybersecurity as their top concern,” said Alex Danyluk, Managing Director, AVANT Analytics. “We see continued strong demand for security services in 2024 as enterprises defend their environments and respond to the inevitable security breaches from the increasing sophistication of the threat actors.”
Many decision-makers fear the impact of a cyberattack is beyond their control
According to the State of Disruption Report, only 39% of respondents felt they were well prepared for a cyberattack. Regarding how a breach would impact their employment, more than two-thirds (69%) of respondents expressed concern that a data breach could bring about the termination of their employment.
“End-user customers, by far, need the most help when it comes to cybersecurity,” said Seth Marsh, Vice President of Sales, TMG. “It is a fact that many businesses fear the possibility of being unable to prevent or minimize the impact of a cyber-attack. However, as a Trusted Advisor, we are confident in our ability to guide them towards the right technology and services to protect their business from the ever-evolving threat landscape. The data from AVANT’s State of Disruption report serves as undeniable proof of the immense value we bring to our end customers.”
Trusted Advisors play an increasingly import role in technology decision-making
According to the State of Disruption Report, a growing number of end-user customers are leveraging Trusted Advisors to map out strategies for using and implementing IT solutions, with most respondents saying they leverage them 84% of the time.
The report also found that almost half (44%) of the technology decision-makers surveyed rely on Trusted Advisors to assist them in recommending and implementing technologies while making strategic decisions internally. Interestingly, 19% of the respondents said that Trusted Advisors are currently in charge of all technology-related decisions and functions.
The AVANT Analytics 2024 State of Disruption Report is based on a survey of 501 U.S.-based enterprise decision-makers at either the C-suite or Management/VP-level in IT, security, or finance. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to be involved in choosing or helping their organization to implement new data network, voice, or compute infrastructure technology, including buying and/or selecting new tools and services.
