Tag Archives: Report

Accountancy, Research

Economic confidence among finance professionals hits highest level since first half of 2023 

  • Although accountants have become more positive about the economy for the first time since Q1 2023, concerns about costs persist   
  • Global concerns about operating costs rose, as did uncertainty around geopolitical tensions and talent acquisition challenges
  • UK SMEs have experienced a similar buoying of confidence, but still face a tough economic landscape to navigate

 

Accountants and finance professionals are more confident in the global economy than they have been since early 2023.

 

The latest ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) saw a moderate increase in confidence to put the index just above its historical average. Add in small increases to the New Orders and Employment indices – both of which are slightly above their averages – and a positive picture emerges of a gradually improving economic outlook. That said, there was a small decline in the Capital Expenditure Index, which remains below average.

 

Encouragingly, there were gains in confidence in most regions. The rise in Asia Pacific was the third largest on record and may reflect growing confidence in the resilience of the US economy, signs of improvement in the Chinese data and wider global economy, and perhaps rising optimism that Japan may finally be exiting from its decades long battle against deflation. The moderate rise in confidence in Western Europe also suggests that growth may be gradually improving from the weakness of recent quarters.

 

On a less positive note, global concerns about increased operating costs rose, although they remain below their Q3 2022 peak. Interestingly, concerns about costs eased again in the advanced economies of North America and Western Europe while remaining elevated by historical standards. By contrast, cost concerns rose noticeably in Africa, Asia Pacific, and South Asia.

 

Additionally, Q1 2024 responses from the Global Risks Survey section of the GECS report demonstrate how the ripple effects of economic uncertainty have been exacerbated by rising geopolitical and talent scarcity challenges. Respondents across all sectors and regions said that they are feeling the impact of talent retention risks, with numerous respondents describing the skills shortage as an epidemic. Cybersecurity is also viewed as a significant threat, especially with advancements in generative AI making ransomware and other cybercrimes increasingly easier and quicker to carry out.

 

Jonathan Ashworth, chief economist, ACCA, said: “The survey points to some improvement in global growth. Nevertheless, while encouraging, it is no time to celebrate just yet, with the global economy facing many risks and challenges and still set for below average growth in 2024. Moreover, the elevated level of concerns about costs suggests that the major central banks should proceed very cautiously with any monetary easing.”

 

Specifically discussing the economic backdrop for UK SMEs, Glenn Collins, head of technical and strategic engagement, ACCA UK, added: “Confidence among UK SMEs increased quite materially in Q1 2024 and is only moderately below its historical average. The New Orders Index declined but is close to its average. The Capital Expenditure Index increased sharply for the second consecutive quarter and is now just above average, but the Employment Index declined again and looks weak by historical standards.

 

“Overall, the broad trend of the key activity indicators (save employment) over recent quarters points to some improvement in the economic backdrop for UK SMEs. Nevertheless, some of the early indicators of corporate stress increased in Q1. Worryingly, problems securing prompt payment, problems accessing finance, and concerns about customers going out of business all rose and are above their historical averages. This does highlight that businesses need to review their finance plans.”

 

Susie Duong, senior director of research and thought leadership at IMA, said of the report: “The continued improvement in confidence in North America, and the rise in the other indicators, likely reflects growing optimism that the US economy is on course for a ‘soft landing’ or perhaps no landing at all in 2024. That would clearly be welcome news for businesses, although it means we are likely to see less monetary easing by the Federal Reserve this year than investors expected a few months ago.”

 

Read the full report here.

 

Visit ACCA’s website for more information.

Economy & Jobs News, Finance News, Wales

Global economy set for slow growth, high uncertainty for 2024, says ACCA chief economist

  • ACCA’s review of the current global economy suggests 2024 will be beset with risks and challenges
  • Slow growth, geopolitical risks, lagged impact of monetary tightening in 2023 and businesses approaching with caution are likely to shape

 

 

An inaugural annual economic prospects report by ACCA examines the outlook and major risks for the global economy and key countries. The report, 2024 Global Economic Outlook: Slow Growth High Uncertainty, sets out the key events to watch in a year packed with elections; examines three trends to watch closely; and interviews chief financial officers (CFOs) from across the globe.

 

Jonathan Ashworth, chief economist at ACCA and author of the report, said: “The global economy looks set to grow slowly once again in 2024, and the risks are skewed to the downside. The lagged impact of past monetary tightening could lead to an even more pronounced slowing in growth, and geopolitical risks remain very heightened. The busy political calendar, with elections scheduled in around 60 countries, including the US, the UK, India, and the European Parliament, adds a sizable extra degree of uncertainty and potential volatility.”

 

Ashworth added: “It could be risky for central banks to declare imminent victory in their battles against inflation” but suggested that: “Upside risks to the global economy in 2024 could perhaps come from continued rapid improvements on the inflation front, which could pave the way for quite an early and significant easing of monetary policy by central banks.”

 

But he warned that “this could risk sowing the seeds of higher inflation in 2025 and beyond.”

 

In addition to monitoring the usual ebb and flow of economic data, Ashworth suggested watching three key trends this year:

 

  • Further backsliding by governments on policies to achieve the green transition
  • Signs of rising geo-economic fragmentation
  • Developments with artificial intelligence (AI).

 

Ashworth said: “The first two could be particularly impacted by political developments through the year, and we will be watching for early signs that wider AI adoption is beginning to provide a much-needed boost to productivity growth in economies.”

 

Meanwhile, caution was the watch word from CFOs given the challenging global economic backdrop and the geopolitical developments and elections in many countries. Some businesses were naturally less impacted by cyclical economic developments, but a number were impacted by, or at risk from, structural changes related to trade, and supply chain issues. Most were experimenting with AI and other technologies in their businesses, while some noted the difficulty in attracting talent given the changing ways of working.

 

Read the full report here.

 

Please visit ACCA’s website for more information.

News

The rising cost of running a business forces more companies to think flexibly

• Two-thirds (67%) of UK businesses believe offering flexibility is crucial when it comes to competing for people with the most sought-after skills
• Half (49%) of businesses saying they have been operating in ‘a candidate’s market’ – one that favours candidates over companies
• Over half (52%) of businesses have increased salaries but can’t afford to keep raising wages at the rate they have been going

Two in three (67%) UK businesses believe offering flexibility to their workers is crucial if they are to successfully retain and attract talent, according to a new report published today.

Businesses realise they cannot compete on salary alone and instead offering flexibility is key to helping companies manage the rising costs of running their businesses. Over half (52%) of businesses have increased salaries to attract talented workers, but say wages rises can’t continue at the rate they have been going.

The second ‘Future World of Work’ report from Sonovate explores what flexibility means to businesses and workers throughout the UK, and how businesses are employing flexibility to remain competitive in what’s been a candidate’s market during 2022. It brings together quantitative research from 4,000 people and 500 small and medium-sized business owners, as well as qualitative interviews with senior thought leaders from the future of work, employment and fintech sectors.

With half (49%) of businesses saying they have been operating in ‘a candidate’s market’ – one that favours candidates over companies – businesses are having to think more creatively about what flexible benefits they can offer to attract, retain and reward their workers. Seven in ten (70%) businesses surveyed say the most skilled people know their worth and will only work under conditions that suit them.

The use of flexibility extends also to retaining the best people already working in permanent positions. Over a third (35%) of businesses report an increase in the proportion of their permanent workforce requesting to switch to contract or temporary roles.

Offering greater flexibility is practical for many businesses from financial and operational, as well as recruitment, perspectives. The report finds that businesses are increasingly turning to different forms of flexibility to attract and retain staff, particularly where it isn’t feasible to compete on salaries in a high inflation, recessionary market. More than four in ten (43%) businesses have raised wages for talent but say they cannot afford these inflated salaries for long.

The forms of flexible working most favoured by the UK’s businesses include allowing workers to choose their own hours (58%), accepting requests to move from permanent to temporary contracts (58%), and providing employees with utilities and internet subsidies to work from home (also 58%). Other popular options amongst businesses include enabling workers to choose which, or how many, days they work (56%), and enforcing a partial work from home policy (54%).

These broadly tally with the desires and expectations of workers. Sonovate’s research finds that 30% of freelance workers want to choose their own hours, as well as how many and which days they work. Three in ten (27%) want to be able to work part time if they wish to, and 25% are keen to work from home when they want to.

Richard Prime, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Sonovate, comments on the findings: “As the cost of living crisis deepens and creates new dynamics and expectations, our understanding of what flexibility means and how it works is fast evolving. Flexibility goes far beyond where and when people work; it encompasses policies that let workers move between permanent and temporary contracts, wider benefit packages for longer-term contractors to match their permanent colleagues, and the right technology to enable flexible working and prompt pay.

“The reality we’re seeing on the ground puts paid to the suggestion that a cost of living crisis or high inflation environment will stem the tide of workers requesting or even demanding greater flexibility from the businesses they work for. The future of work is transforming month to month right in front of us. Macro market events that we might think would hinder the shift to a new world of work are instead accelerating and shaping working habits in fascinating ways.

“For many businesses, 2022 was the year of the candidate’s market; it remains to be seen whether that will continue into 2023. Either way, if 2023 heralds greater growth, lower inflation and more stability, it’ll be fascinating to see how flexibility extends its reach further and forces more businesses to think creatively about how they attract, recruit and retain.”

 

News

Node4’s Report Reveals Five Reasons Why UK Businesses Are Removing Workloads From Public Cloud Platforms

Cloud-led digital transformation Managed Services Provider (MSP) Node4, has released its Future of Hybrid Cloud report. Based on independent research, it finds UK IT managers have a generally positive view of public cloud platforms. They identified improved security posture, a greener and more sustainable IT infrastructure, more efficient IT team operations and less downtime as principal advantages. However, half of respondents said that, despite these benefits, they have had to migrate a workload back off a public cloud platform — and called out several potential shortcomings that could be behind this trend:

 

  • 56% said their public cloud environment was more expensive to operate than initially forecast.

  • 22% identified service issues or capacity constraints

  • 21% reported a lack of control around usage and access

  • 21% cited performance issues

  • 17% experienced workload incompatibility

 

The report’s findings suggest that these factors are also contributing to the retention or increase in non-cloud IT infrastructure. Indeed, 41% of UK organisations using public cloud still have applications and workloads running on company-owned hardware — and 37% rely on a platform provided by a hosting company.

 

Looking to the future, the country’s IT managers think they will still be running applications on company-owned hardware (44%) and using a platform provided by a hosting company (42%) in three years. Just 12% of respondents expect to host more than 75% of applications and workloads in a public cloud environment. This makes a more formalised long-term hybrid cloud usage strategy a likely scenario for most UK businesses.

 

When asked why they’re considering a hybrid cloud strategy, nearly half (46%) of respondents said it was to retain existing infrastructure and assets. The same number (46%) said they would adopt hybrid cloud to support applications that don’t suit public cloud. Over a third said it would help them tackle latency, edge, and performance issues they’d experienced with public cloud. Respondents do, however, have a few concerns about hybrid cloud adoption, citing the need to support multiple platforms (39%) and the complexity of integrating multiple platforms (36%).

 

Commenting on the report and its findings, Andrew Slater, Practice Director – Cloud at Node4, says: “Our research underscores that many UK organisations have encountered challenges in getting the final 20-30% of their production workloads into public cloud environments. This is probably not what they envisaged when they began their public cloud adoption journey. IT departments were working on a vision where all workloads sat neatly within a public cloud environment, delivering significant cost savings — and that all security, compliance, monitoring, updates, backup, and disaster recovery could be centrally managed. But as our research demonstrates, things don’t always work out exactly as anticipated for many organisations.”

 

Andrew continues: “We have seen the emergence of a new hybrid cloud model where organisations bring the public cloud providers’ software into their controlled IT environments. Tools such as Azure Stack HCI and Azure Arc meet the core challenges of operating a hybrid cloud model head-on, providing centralised management, compliance, and security alongside the ability to run PaaS services outside of the public cloud.  While respondents identified potential barriers to longer-term hybrid cloud adoption, we’re confident that these can be overcome with developing hybrid cloud technologies. This would deliver a cost-effective, long-term strategy for UK businesses to manage their IT infrastructure without worrying about migrating incompatible or inappropriate workloads to public cloud environments.”

 

To download a full copy of the report, please visit www.node4.co.uk/resource/hybrid-cloud-report.

News

Grant Thornton’s Scotland Limited Report 2022 shines light on Top 100 private companies in the nation

Grant Thornton has today released its Scotland Limited Report 2022, which identifies the country’s Top 100 private limited companies, and explores what lies behind their position as the nation’s most dynamic and successful businesses.
The Scotland Limited Report is compiled using the most recent publicly available accounts of Scotland’s best performing private businesses, which are ranked based on a hybrid measure of data, which includes turnover and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
This year’s report highlights the various achievements and contributions the Top 100 have made to the Scottish economy over the last year and provides key data for economic trends across oil and gas, manufacturing and engineering, real estate, food and beverages and other core sectors. It also analyses M&A activity, debt levels, export figures, and regional and international trends, offering detailed insights into the Scottish business landscape for 2022.
Food and drink companies dominate the list (22), with the majority based in the West – the region that is home to nearly half (47) of the Top 100 companies. The dominance of energy and natural resources and manufacturing and engineering in the North East of Scotland will surprise nobody, but it’s not a market that stands still – especially with the changing offshore landscape. Following a trend seen in previous reports, the north and south have the lowest number of Top 100 companies.
This year saw several large companies leave the table, including businesses that were sold to foreign or listed buyers. Unsurprisingly, businesses that were significantly impacted by COVID-19, such as Edinburgh Airport, Caledonian Heritable, and Apex Hotels also left the list – it will be interesting to see how quickly they make a return.
To read the full report, please follow this link: https://www2.grantthornton.co.uk/scotland-limited-league-table-2022.html
Neil McInnes, Partner and Head of Corporate Finance for Grant Thornton in Scotland, said: “Despite the more recent setbacks from multiple challenges posed by geo-political factors and global issues, the evolving story since Scotland Limited first launched in 2014 is still one of growth.
“The report highlights that Scotland is a successful trading nation and is an increasingly connected, global economy with good support and interest from funders and other key players in the financial ecosystem. The country has great strength in innovative technologies that underpin key industries such as food and drink, and energy and natural resources. If the leading private companies continue to capitalise on new international markets while implementing well-considered, measured growth strategies, they’ll undoubtedly remain the engine of the Scottish economy.
“Whilst inflation, supply-chain disruption and rising interest rates continue to test the navigation skills of management teams across Scottish business, it’s especially instructive to look at the private companies which have already demonstrated how to ride out the turbulence.
“Overall, the report for Scotland’s Top 100 businesses this year is positive, and the country has the international reputation, expertise, and opportunity to tackle the issues that lie ahead. While there’s uncertainty caused by ongoing geo-political turbulence, unlike the pandemic, we have the foresight of some of these challenges and we can predict, plan and prepare for the future.”
News, Telecoms

Small Cell Forum report forecasts that open networks, shared spectrum and new operating models can drive significant growth in small cell deployment

London, UK, 7 July 2022 – Small Cell Forum (SCF) has released its latest market forecast report.

The report, available here: https://www.smallcellforum.org/scf-market-forecast/, based on a survey of 101 service providers, confirms the continuing growth of the small cell market, while forecasting that 2022-27 will be a period of rapid change and expansion in the small cell market, driven by potent enablers that include increased diversity in use cases, deployment business models and architectures.

Key data points include:

  • The report forecasts compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for small cells of 15% for the whole global market, which will result in cumulative deployments of almost 36 million radios by 2027.
  • By the end of 2024, the most common architecture for indoor enterprise locations will be a two-unit, one-split network based on Split 6, with a dominant 46% of deployers choosing this option for at least some of their planned rollouts. The next most common choice will be to stick to integrated small cells (18% of deployers) followed by the O-RAN Alliance’s one-split Split 7.
  • The report forecasts the rising prevalence of enterprise small cells deployed and operated together with edge compute and/or packet core. Those deployed with both these functions will grow at a CAGR of 50% in 2020-27 to account for 25% of the total at the end of that period, while 27% of radio units will be run by a private core separate from any edge.
  • Manufacturing, utilities and energy, retail and transportation industries will be the biggest deployers of small cells in the period 2020-27, reflecting the large numbers of units they will need to support very large premises or infrastructure networks.
  • By 2027, the number of units deployed and run by neutral hosts will match the number deployed and run by private network operators (PNOs), at about one-third each. From 2023-27, PNOs will be the largest category of small cell operator, overtaking MNOs’ public networks from 2023.
  • The percentage of new small cells that will be deployed with 5G New Radio, or 4G/5G, support will rise from 13% in 2020 to 96% in 2027.
  • Deployment of Open RAN small cells will rise at a CAGR of 146% in 2021-27, to reach 51% of total small cells deployed at the end of that period, and a rollout rate of 2.7 million radio units in enterprise and private environments, and 1.8 million in public networks.
  • APAC will account for about 55% of total deployments throughout the forecast period; Europe will grow at 15% CAGR; deployments in the rest-of-the-world category will rise, from a smaller base, at 39% CAGR. North America, a very important driver of small cell rollout in the 2010s, will see its annual deployments peak in 2023, though it will still account for 13% of global deployments in 2027.

Caroline Gabriel, SCF Content Director, says: “Our survey tells us that open networks, shared spectrum and new operating models have the potential to drive significant growth in small cell rollout. However, this growth is reliant on several key challenges being addressed as a matter of urgency.

“Some challenges relate to ongoing issues around siting and regulation, others to consensus on technologies such as 5G in shared spectrum. Common foundations on which vendors and operators can innovate in a unified and interoperable way will be the biggest single factor in ensuring that the small cell industry meets or exceeds the growth predicted in this forecast.”

Prabhakar Chitrapu, Chair, Small Cell Forum, says: “The results from this year’s survey make compelling reading. Service providers are clear that the wide variety of enterprise 5G requirements demand many deployment models. To meet that demand, architectural change will not be sufficient on its own. There will need to be a far greater diversity of deployment and monetization models than exists for mobile broadband.

“In addition, the diversity of use cases implied will require common foundations to avoid fragmentation. This is an important area of focus for SCF as it seeks to drive common platforms and deployment blueprints throughout the ecosystem.”

Now in its seventh year, SCF’s Market Status Report is based on service provider surveys, modelling and forecasts. Completed in the first half of 2022, survey respondents comprised a total of 69 tier 1 and 2 mobile-only or fixed/mobile operators, along with 32 other organizations planning or deploying cellular networks, including neutral host providers, private network operators and enterprise service providers.

ESG/CSR, News

Sedex identifies 10 vital data points to demystify ESG reporting

Latest report from Sedex identifies the essential business and supply chain data to support companies’ sustainability goals and effective ESG reporting

London 6 July 2022 – A new report from Sedex, the trusted partner for environment, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability data, identifies the key data to collect for businesses looking to conduct effective ESG reporting.

ESG has become a business priority, as companies respond to investors’ increased interest in social and environmental performance. But a lack of reporting standards, with varying requirements across different ratings providers and frameworks, makes it incredibly challenging for businesses to meet ESG demands efficiently.

Data and technology provide essential solutions to this challenge. Capturing the right information equips a company to achieve ESG goals and supports other sustainability activities, such as producing modern slavery statements and demonstrating tangible progress against targets.

Data to meet multiple sustainability goals

Sedex has identified the data businesses need most to meet ESG demands, and which feeds into many other sustainability-related activities. Gathering this data can save companies time, reducing duplication and effort, and helping build supply chain visibility to make more informed decisions.

The 10 data areas:

  • Air emissions
  • Water use
  • Physical waste
  • Worker demographics
  • Accident and injury occurrences
  • Worker access to freedom of association
  • Modern slavery risks and occurrences
  • Gender pay gap
  • Corruption risks and occurrences
  • Governance bodies

See Notes to Editors for full descriptions

Data-led technology and tools enable businesses to collect, store, share and report on this data at scale across global operations and supply chains. Sedex’s Radar risk tool, for example, provides over 340,000 risk scores across countries and industries for businesses to compare social and environmental risks around the world.

Jon Hancock, CEO at Sedex, says: “Data on a business’s operations, employees and supply chain is crucial for identifying and tackling social and environmental sustainability issues, and evidencing a company’s ESG impact in a credible way. This data, and the insight it brings, also supports many other business benefits – including more effective risk management, better response to supply chain disruption, and improved reputation with stakeholders including consumers.

“We empower companies to do this with our solutions, including bespoke support on a company’s particular ESG and sustainability needs, and the tools to execute activities at scale. Businesses can capture the data they need in the most efficient way.”

View the full insights report on the 10 core data points here: https://resources.sedex.com/10-data-points-for-esg-reporting/

Broadband, News

Homes and businesses turning to independent providers for broadband connectivity, new report reveals

More than 5.5 million homes and businesses in the UK can now connect to an independent fibre broadband network, according to new figures published today. For the first time, the total number of live connections provided by the ‘alt nets’ is above 1m.

Compiled for the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA) by Point Topic using data provided by independent network operators across the country, this year’s ‘Metrics for the UK independent network sector’ report shows that the sector has again doubled in size over the previous year.

The independent sector continues to pull in significant sums of private funding with investment and expenditure commitments predicted to reach £17.7bn by the end of 2025. When combined with the £12bn announced by BT Group, the £5bn announced by government, and £2bn planned by VM02, investment levels will exceed the previous estimates of £30bn for bringing next generation networks to every property in the UK.

INCA’s Chief Executive, Malcolm Corbett said: “This continued high level of investment, coupled with commitments from others in the private sector like BT and Virgin Media, and the money being put in by government, shows that the UK is on track, for the first time in its history, to have proper broadband infrastructure competition. Independent network operators are a key piece of this connectivity jigsaw which will offer consumers real choice and drive innovation in the broadband services they consume.”

The report also details operators’ concerns, which include;

  • planning and streetworks delays
  • the threat of overbuild from taxpayer-funded, Project Gigabit procurements
  • delivery times for services from Openreach or other operators (e.g., EAD circuits, PIA)
  • getting wayleaves
  • the impact of BDUK’s pause on community-led ISPs Gigabit Vouchers; and
  • access to skills and labour.

“This report shows the increasing maturity of the independent broadband sector”, commented INCA Chairman, Alex Blowers. “It is now transitioning from fundraising and planning mode to delivery and execution stage and is undeniably a key partner in the delivery of a 21st century digital UK. It is now crucial that the government and Ofcom ensure momentum is maintained, by evolving the underlying policy and regulatory framework in support of the infrastructure competition that has now arrived in the UK,” Mr Blowers continued.

The full report can be viewed at- https://www.inca.coop/2022-altnet-metrics.

For more information about their work or of INCA in general, please visit: https://www.inca.coop/.

News, Security

Bot attacks go undiscovered for average of 16 weeks

New Netacea research shows businesses are leaving attacks unchallenged for almost four months

Manchester, UK – 7th June 2022—Netacea, the bot detection and mitigation specialist, today releases its new report into how businesses are dealing with bot attacks. It reveals one key area where businesses are failing to tackle bot attacks—bots are going undiscovered for an average of 16 weeks, up two weeks from last year’s findings.

The study, The Bot Management Review 2022, surveyed 440 businesses across the travel, entertainment, ecommerce, financial services and telecoms sectors in the United States and the UK. It is a follow up to last year’s report, and finds that in almost every measure, businesses appear to be doing worse than last year in the fight against bots—though this may not necessarily mean they are losing the fight.

As well as the finding that bots attacks are going undiscovered for longer, the research also found:

  • Bot owners are shifting their tactics, with 60% of businesses detecting attacks on APIs and 39% detecting attacks on mobile apps (up from 46% and 23% from 2021 respectively).
  • Attacks from each of the main types of bots—sniper, account checker, scalper and scraper—have all increased by between 7-9 percentage points from 2021. 53% of businesses are now detecting attacks from account checker bots.
  • Almost all businesses, around 97%, report that customer satisfaction has been affected by bot attacks.
  • Retailers in the US are reporting fewer loyalty points being stolen by automated attacks, but the value of the average theft has more than doubled, suggesting a more targeted approach.
  • The revenue impact of skewed web analytics, caused by bots being treated as genuine visitors, has increased from 4% to 5%, though fewer businesses report a substantial impact from this particular effect of bot attacks.

“On the face of it, this looks like a very poor result for businesses hoping to fight the effect of bot attacks. Our research has shown that bots have a substantial effect on business revenues, and so it’s in their interest for our results to move the other direction,” said Andy Still, CPO and Co-Founder, Netacea.

“However, we think that the results can be interpreted another way. Businesses are taking time to wake up to the threat of bots, and we see at least part of this increase in bot attacks being down to a greater awareness. Businesses are getting better and recognising bot attacks, and so while it may look like things are getting worse, there is some cause for cheer.”

The report’s results on bot myths goes some way to confirm this theory, with incorrect assumptions about bots believed less than in previous years. Fewer businesses believe that all bot attacks come from Russia and China, that a Web Application Firewall will stop sophisticated bots, and that ReCAPTCHA is an effective tool against all bots. However, more than 50% of businesses still believe these myths, suggesting there is still some way to go.

“Businesses may be beginning to turn the tide against bot attacks, but if so it really is just the beginning,” said Matthew Gracey McMinn, Head of Threat Research, Netacea. “The most damning result of our research, that attacks go unreported for 16 weeks, shows the risk of complacency—bots can essentially run wild for months before the threat is tackled. Better understanding is vital, but just the first step.”

The full report can be downloaded here: https://www.netacea.com/bot-management-review-2022/

Customer Experience, News

Among IT Decision-Makers, 85% See Urgent Shift in Focus to Consumers’ Digital Experiences in New “Reprogramming the Enterprise” Report from WSO2

While a majority of 500 IT decision-makers agree on the priority around delivering digital experiences, the survey revealed gaps in organisational readiness

London, UK – 1st June 2022 – In a survey of 500 IT decision-makers, 85% agree that there is an urgent shift toward focusing on consumers’ digital experiences. Moreover, 73% of respondents say that the move to focus on the digital experience in their own organisation was sudden. The survey was conducted for a new report from WSO2, “Reprogramming the Enterprise: Keeping Pace with the Wave of Innovation”. The results highlight the factors that organisations must consider as they deliver innovative and differentiated digital experiences for their customers.

Most of the decision-makers surveyed indicate that the accelerated use of digital channels is reshaping both their organisational and technology strategies. The report from WSO2, a leader in digital transformation technology, examines these IT professionals’ strategies, as well as the roadblocks they face in delivering new digital experiences today. The full report can be downloaded here: https://wso2.com/reports/reprogramming-the-enterprise-digital-innovation/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=pr_reprogramming_enterprise_220601.

Driving Customers’ Digital Experiences

How well do enterprises understand customer’s digital experiences? It depends on who you ask. Among C-level executives, 52% say their organisation understands its customers’ digital experiences extremely well compared to 30% of directors and 22% of managers. The responses suggest a possible disconnect between top decision-makers and those who are more closely involved with improving customers’ experiences on a daily basis.

However, the vast majority of IT decision-makers agree that four factors are key to driving better digital experiences, as well as gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage: improved security (90%), cloud adoption (89%), API integration (82%), and total data control (81%)

Seeking Ways to Speed Innovation

The push to accelerate innovation is putting additional pressure on enterprises already facing a shortage of software developers. In fact, 51% of IT decision-makers say the talent shortage of developers has had a negative impact on their business. Over half (54%) of respondents say that the shortage of developers has delayed projects and reduced productivity while 48% report that it has slowed the pace of innovation.

To address the shortage, enterprises are relying on a combination of staffing, professional development, and technology strategies. Among IT decision-makers, 40% report that they are increasing automation, and 87% think it is likely that more non-developers will use low-code or no-code development tools over the next three years. Meanwhile, 54% of respondents say their organisation is training other employees on developer skills, and 65% identify cloud-native development as the developer skill their organisation is most in need of.

“For the majority of survey respondents, the ability to rapidly deliver innovative digital experiences is becoming a critical factor in their ability to compete,” said Eric Newcomer, WSO2 chief technology officer. “Cloud-native benefits, such as scale, resilience, and agility, are integral to the experience, but not easy to achieve. Automating deployment is also essential but adds a complexity of its own. Developers, especially those with these skills, are in short supply, and need better tools to compete and succeed.”