TechBeat in association with Sidero: What are the tech trends that will define 2021? Survey

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* 1. How would you best describe your organisation’s cloud strategy?

We don’t have any cloud strategy

Our cloud strategy is outdated/limiting our business

Our cloud strategy is adequate/a work in progress

Our cloud strategy is well defined and is enabling business success

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* 2. Do you expect your business to move more of its applications/workloads onto the cloud in the next 12 months?

Yes

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* 3. If Yes in Question 2, how much of your business do you expect to move?

We will increase our cloud usage by 1-20%

We will increase our cloud usage by 21-40%

We will increase our cloud usage by 41-60%

We will increase our cloud usage by 61-80%

We will increase our cloud usage by 81-100%

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* 4. What are the main obstacles/challenges to increased cloud adoption in your organisation? [tick all that apply]

Loss of control

Lack of visibility of applications in the cloud

Security concerns i.e. data loss/data leakage

Lack of in-house skills

Budget constraints

Lack of buy-in from senior management/board

Compliance and regulatory concerns

Other (please specify)

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* 5. How would you best describe your organisation’s digital transformation strategy?

We don’t have any digital transformation strategy

Our digital strategy is outdated/limiting our business

Our digital strategy is adequate/a work in progress

Our digital strategy is well defined and is enabling business success

Other (please specify)

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* 6. Please estimate how much your organisation is planning to spend on cloud and digital services, investments and technologies in the next 12 months?

€1-€10,000

€10,000-€50,000

€50,000-€100,000

€100,000-€500,000

€500,001-€1 million

€1 million - €3 million

€3 million - €5 million

More than €5 million

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* 7. How has a lack of in-house technical/digital skills affected your business? [Tick all that apply]

We aren’t scaling at the pace we want

We can’t digitise our services quickly enough

We can’t get new products to the market quickly enough

It is hampering our innovation

It has halted our revenue growth

It has halted our international growth

It is hampering our digital transformation

It is hampering our ability to recover post-Covid

It is more difficult to meet our regulatory requirements

We are at greater risk from cybersecurity threats

It hasn’t affected us

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* 8. Where do you source additional technology/digital skills from that you lack inhouse? [Tick all that apply]

We are outsourcing support from external partners in Ireland

We are outsourcing support from external partners outside Ireland

We are recruiting from outside Ireland

We have a graduate programme

We have an apprenticeship programme

We are hiring IT contractors as needed

We’re spending more on training our existing staff

None of the above

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* 9. Please estimate the cost of the IT skills shortage to your company over the past 12 months (e.g. combination of training costs, outsourcing costs, cost of missed sales etc?)

None

€1-€10,000

€10,001-€50,000

€50,001-€100,000

€100,000-€500,000

€500,000-€1 million

€1 million - €3 million

€3 million - €5 million

More than €5 million

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* 10. Do you believe the following educational institutions in Ireland are equipping students/graduates with the necessary skills for the digital era?

	Yes	No
Schools	Schools Yes	Schools No
Universities	Universities Yes	Universities No
Institutes of technology	Institutes of technology Yes	Institutes of technology No
Further education colleges	Further education colleges Yes	Further education colleges No
Private independent colleges	Private independent colleges Yes	Private independent colleges No

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* 11. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you agree or disagree.

	Agree	Disagree
I believe there is sufficient investment in the regions (outside Dublin) to enable technology companies to invest and locate there.	I believe there is sufficient investment in the regions (outside Dublin) to enable technology companies to invest and locate there. Agree	I believe there is sufficient investment in the regions (outside Dublin) to enable technology companies to invest and locate there. Disagree
I believe there are sufficient technical/digital skills in regional towns and cities (outside Dublin) to enable technology companies to invest and locate there.	I believe there are sufficient technical/digital skills in regional towns and cities (outside Dublin) to enable technology companies to invest and locate there. Agree	I believe there are sufficient technical/digital skills in regional towns and cities (outside Dublin) to enable technology companies to invest and locate there. Disagree
I believe that more technology companies will locate offices (head offices &/or satellite offices) outside Dublin post-Covid.	I believe that more technology companies will locate offices (head offices &/or satellite offices) outside Dublin post-Covid. Agree	I believe that more technology companies will locate offices (head offices &/or satellite offices) outside Dublin post-Covid. Disagree
I believe my organisation has enough female representation on the board/senior management positions.	I believe my organisation has enough female representation on the board/senior management positions. Agree	I believe my organisation has enough female representation on the board/senior management positions. Disagree
I believe enough is being done to encourage female students to take STEM subjects/courses.	I believe enough is being done to encourage female students to take STEM subjects/courses. Agree	I believe enough is being done to encourage female students to take STEM subjects/courses. Disagree
I believe my organisation could effectively introduce a four day working week without negatively impacting organisational success.	I believe my organisation could effectively introduce a four day working week without negatively impacting organisational success. Agree	I believe my organisation could effectively introduce a four day working week without negatively impacting organisational success. Disagree

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* 12. What are the main benefits of locating in the regional towns and cities (outside Dublin)? [Pick top three]

Better access to skills/talent

Less competition for skills/talent

Better work/life balance

Commute is easier

Providing employment in the local region

Cost of living is lower for employees

Costs for setting up and running business are lower

More grants available

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Which of the following technologies/services will you begin using or increase usage of in your organisation in 2021? [Tick all that apply]

Digital transformation

Automation

Machine Learning

VR (Virtual Reality)

IOT (Internet of Things)

Cloud Native Applications

5G Networks

RPA (Robotic Process Automation)

Edge Computing

CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Development)

Sustainable technologies

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* 14. What are the biggest impacts you expect Brexit to have on your company’s IT operation in 2021? [Tick all that apply]

We have to move data/data centres out of the UK

We have to deploy new data infrastructure in the UK to remain compliant with data residency laws

We have to move IT systems out of the UK

It is increasing our overall IT costs

It will make the cost of purchasing IT services and products more expensive

It will make our cyber-security more vulnerable

We will have to cancel some of our current IT supplier contracts

It will negatively impact on our IT skills gap

It will give us an opportunity to change our IT supplier base

It will provide us with a competitive advantage against UK firms

We will have to digitally transform quicker

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* 15. When do you think most employees in your organisation will return to working in the office?

Most are already working in the office

Q1 2021 (January – March)

Q2 2021 (April – June)

Q3 2021 (July – September)

Q4 2021 (October – December)

2022 or later

The majority of employees will continue to work at home from now on

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* 16. How likely is your company to move to a four-day working week within the next 3 years?

Highly likely

Somewhat likely

Somewhat unlikely

Highly unlikely

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* 17. Do your employees/colleagues have all of the tools, infrastructure and support they need to work as productively at home as in the office? (pick the most relevant response)

Yes, they have all the tools and infrastructure they need

No, they don’t have all the tools and infrastructure they need

No, but we are planning to invest more to ensure they have the tools, infrastructure and support they need

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