ChannelVision Magazine

Buyers Side Source: Computer Economics Primary Motivation for Investing in Emerging Technologies According to UK and US Marketers, % of respondents Source: OnBrand; Bynder; eMarketer Percent of IT buyers who agree or strongly agree with each statement Source: Spiceworks Practicing Formally and Consistently Practicing Formally but Inconsistently Percent of Organizations 0% 20% 40% 60% 84% 87% 83% 65% 55% 57% 60% 53% 51% 34% 25% 17% 29% 22% 25% 11% 5% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% I need to trust a tech brand before making a purchase The technology I purchase for a personal use influences my technology purchase decisions for my organization I prefer to purchase from tech brands that focus on building a relationship vs. securing a transaction deal I need to have a previous experience with a tech brand before making a purchase I need to agree with a tech brand’s values before making a purchase Millennials Gen X Baby Boomers Customer engagement 38% Brand development 20% Brand awareness 17% Customer loyalty 15% Automation 10% Despite the noise that millen- nials are so different from previ- ous generations, at least some IT purchase considerations are fairly consistent across generational cohorts, suggest surveys of Spice- works’ member base. Trust, not surprisingly, is a key consideration for all, and the need to build a rela- tionship or some level of familiarity is most important among millenni- als, suggesting simple search and social posts are far from enough to close a deal. Brand building and brand awareness have taken a back seat to custo er engagement, at least in terms of marketers and their technology investments. A February survey of 504 U.K and U.S. marketers by OnBrand and Bynder found that the number one motivation for investing in emerging technologies is to drive customer engagement. Tech Purchase Decisions by Generation Customer Engagement is King Offshoring IT Help Losing its Luster According to a study from technology staffing firm Genesis10, the appeal of offshored IT work has declined signifi- cantly in favor of domestic outsourcing strategies. While the use of offshore sourcing has been almost a default posi- tion for realizing labor savings, recent moves have been toward domestic strategies that include contracting with third-parties to staff teams offsite as well as workforce augmentation. Indeed, moving forward, only 11 percent of sur- vey respondents are looking offshore to acquire talent while 46 percent are out- sourcing domestically. “As we expected, there is a growing realization that sending work offshore often translates to decreased productiv- ity, security risks and hidden costs that negate intended cost savings,” said Gen- esis10 CEO Harley Lippman. During the past several years, en- terprises have invested significantly in acquiring technologies capable of yield- ing increased operational efficiency, more profitability and higher customer satisfac- tion, said Lippman. Now they have turned their focus to effectively leveraging these investments in order to implement tech- driven business strategies faster and better than their competition. At the same time, the supply of talent with the neces- sary skills, experience and training to lead and staff these initiatives is histori- cally tight. In turn, 70 percent of the companies surveyed are rounding out their mission- critical delivery teams with outside contract workers who can seamlessly integrate into projects and who intuitively understand the relationship between proj- ect goals and business impact. “Companies have placed huge bets on IT modernization, and the data is clear,” Lippman said. “With no margin for error and a tight market for talent, there is a critical mass looking outside the enterprise for talent management solutions that allow them to separate from the pack and then maintain market leadership. Staff augmen- tation, training and domestic outsourcing are proving to be the key ingredients.”  Practice Adoption Stages: DevOps Source: Computer Economics Primary Motivation for Investing in Emerging Technologies According to UK and US Mark t rs, % of respondents Source: OnBrand; Bynder; eMarketer Percent of IT buyers who agree or strongly agree with each statement Source: Spiceworks Practicing Formally and Consist ntly Practicing Formally but Inconsistently Practicing Informally Percent of Organizations Implementing No Activity 46% 0% 20% 40% 60% 84% 87% 83% 65% 55% 57% 60% 53% 51% 34% 25% 17% 29% 22% 25% 14% 24% 11% 5% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% I need to trust a tech brand before making a purch se The technology I purchase for a personal use influences my technology purchase decisions for my organization I prefer to purchase from tech brands that focus on building a relationship vs. securing a transaction deal I need to have a previous experience with a tech brand before making a purchase I need to agree with a tech brand’s values before making a purchase Millennials Gen X Baby Boomers Customer engagement 38% Brand development 20% Brand awareness 17% Customer loyalty 15% Automation 10% July - August, 2018 | Channel Vision 41