UK SMEs prioritise hybrid IT infrastructure for next five years

Developing an IT infrastructure that supports long-term hybrid working is the top priority for the next five years among IT decision-makers at UK SMEs, according to a newly published report by Six Degrees. The UK SME Cloud Intelligence Report 2024 identifies this objective, with 28% of decision-makers ranking it as their foremost concern.

Other leading priorities highlighted in the report include increasing automation (27%), harnessing AI and machine learning to advance business goals (26%), outsourcing IT operations (26%), and enhancing diversity and inclusivity within the IT team and broader business (26%).

Commenting on the findings, Vince DeLuca, Chief Executive Officer at Six Degrees, said, "The common link between each of these objectives is the desire to improve productivity and empower higher-performing teams." DeLuca elaborated, "The top four objectives seek to do this by deploying new technology, implementing existing IT in new ways, and by leveraging vast amounts of valuable data."

DeLuca also addressed the importance of diversity and inclusivity, stating, "However, improvements to diversity and inclusivity also play a key role in driving productivity, stimulating innovation, and minimising the risk of groupthink. Consciously or not, it's clear that IT decision-makers at SMEs are laying the groundwork to compete successfully over the long term in increasingly crowded markets with lower margins."

Interestingly, cybersecurity-related goals did not feature in the top five long-term objectives for respondents, with IT security ranking only seventh (24%) and staying ahead of cybercriminals ninth (22%). DeLuca expressed concerns over this, saying, "When it comes to IT security, many businesses that have migrated to public cloud environments simply install a firewall and intrusion protection services, then leave the systems to run themselves."

He went on to warn, "Too many organisations still move their IT infrastructure to the cloud and think it will all be protected by default and design. Indeed, when asked directly, 42% of respondents said that cloud adoption has increased their security. However, there remains a high degree of confusion around maintaining security protection and reducing those threats. That's not going away anytime soon, and businesses need third-party help and advice now more than ever."

The report supports this cautionary view, revealing that only 38% of respondents use a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution. It also found that only one-third of UK SMEs have SIEM/SOC monitoring in place, while similarly low percentages conduct regular backups and employ data encryption.

Harnessing AI and machine learning is another significant focus, ranking as the third priority for IT decision-makers over the next five years. DeLuca noted the essential preparatory steps, saying, "It's important that organisations prepare now by putting in place robust sets of data ingestion and integration capabilities. These will feed a rich and holistic data fabric with the level of information accuracy and precision required to successfully power their AI-based applications."

Regarding AI deployment, around one-quarter of respondents indicated they might use AI as a cyber security measure, with this figure rising to 31% among IT managers. DeLuca highlighted the relevance of recent advancements, saying, "In the coming years, we expect the vendor landscape to coalesce around AI-based tools and services that support business outcomes. Microsoft's work on Copilot is a great example of putting AI tech into a business context to show how it can augment user productivity without organisations making huge financial self-build commitments."

DeLuca concluded with a word of caution for those considering AI adoption, "Organisations contemplating AI adoption right now would be wise to remember the issues that early cloud adopters experienced—or those who still start their cloud migration without clear goals and objectives attached to business outcomes. Remember, you don't need AI or cloud for their own sake; you need business applications and outcomes that are enhanced by the technology."