US technology services distributor and platform for IT decision-making, AVANT, has released the findings of its 2024 AVANT Research & Analytics State of Disruption Report. In addition to examining how companies are switching from outdated solutions to contemporary cloud-based services like security, UCaaS, and CCaaS, this study also examines how the Trusted Advisor affects these choices.
Certain sectors have advanced their digital transformation efforts more than others, according to this 2024 State of Disruption Report. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed in the financial services industry, which includes insurance, said that they “always want to be at the forefront of IT.” By contrast, 58% of merchants and 64% of legal and high-tech enterprises stated the same. Retail/e-commerce and consulting/business services are the industries most advanced in terms of completely achieving their digital transformation objectives, with 28% of respondents saying that their organizations had reached their targets.
The largest growing sectors for cloud services are UCaaS and CCaaS, according to the State of Disruption Report, which revealed that 78% of respondents purchase cloud services via authorized advisors. Furthermore, according to 68% of participants, they seek guidance from trusted advisors when choosing security solutions, which includes MSSP services.
“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.”
IaaS, Colocation, UCaaS, CCaaS
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Colocation are witnessing substantial adoption shifts, while Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) are experiencing persistent transitions towards cloud-based solutions, with notable sector-specific growth projections.
- Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) - High tech is predicted to see the largest adoption of IaaS, with adoption rising from 42% (pre-pandemic) to 64% when the survey was conducted to an anticipated 77% in the next 12 months. Retail and e-commerce are predicted to grow from 41% (pre-pandemic) to 63% when the survey was conducted to 75% in the next 12 months. Of the firms that have moved to IaaS, just 8% say they have done so completely.
- Colocation - Healthcare (including biotech) is anticipated to have the most rise in legacy equipment in colocation as opposed to being on-premises. It increased from 50% (pre-pandemic) to 73% at the time of the study and is predicted to reach 79% in the next year. Colocation use in financial services is predicted to rise from 48% (pre-pandemic) to 63% at the time of the survey and to 77% in the next year.
- Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) - Persistent shift from on-premises systems to cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is shown in the average percentage of cloud-based phones across all sectors studied, which was 47% prior to the pandemic. It is anticipated that by Q2’24, the average adoption rate will reach 77% based on survey results. The largest sectors anticipated to see the biggest increases in adoption are financial services (8.24%), retail, high-tech, and construction (9%–11%), with the latter three expected to follow suit.
- Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) - Financial services is predicted to have the most rise in CCaaS usage over the following 12 months, with adoption rising from 51% (pre-pandemic) to 63% at the time of the study and then to 78% in that time. Closely behind, retail and e-commerce increased from 43% (before to the pandemic) to 63% at the time of the survey and is expected to reach 78% in the next year.
“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.”
Cybersecurity, Trusted Advisors
Merely 39% of participants in AVANT’s 2024 State of Disruption Report expressed confidence in their ability to withstand a cyberattack. When asked how a data breach might affect their job, almost two-thirds (69%) of respondents said they were worried that it may result in their employment being terminated.
The majority of respondents to the 2024 State of Disruption Report said that they utilize trusted advisors 84% of the time to help them plan how to use and deploy IT solutions. This indicates that an increasing number of end-user customers are using them for this purpose. Nearly half (44%) of the technological decision-makers polled in the research also said that they make internal strategic choices with the help of trusted advisors, who help them suggest and deploy technologies. Remarkably, 19% of the participants said that all technology-related choices and operations are presently managed by trusted advisors.
About the 2024 State of Disruption Report
For the AVANT Analytics 2024 State of Disruption Report, 501 corporate decision-makers in finance, IT, and security headquartered in the United States who are either in the C-suite or at the Management/VP level were polled. To be eligible for the survey, participants had to be actively engaged in selecting or purchasing new tools and services for their business, as well as helping it install new voice, compute, and data network infrastructure technologies.
