2023 HEALTHCARE IT PRIORITIES WITH STATISTICS
Node4 recently launched its Mid-Market IT Priorities Report 2022/2023 – packed with compelling insight from 459 UK IT decision makers.
The report asked leaders in insurance, transport logistics, online retail and healthcare about their IT priorities for the year ahead and is a thought-provoking read for anyone in IT job roles.
We’ll be compiling the report’s key healthcare takeaways and trends. Read more below, or download the full report below.
1. BEING BOLDER WITH BUDGETS
We couldn’t report on IT priorities without talking about budgets – a major 2022 challenge that IT decision makers are now feeling far more optimistic about.
Although it’s true that budgets are moving in an encouraging direction, approximately one third of our surveyed healthcare IT leaders are still concerned about budget effectiveness in 2023.
30% stated that their current IT budget does not meet IT team ambitions – a sobering figure. When questioned further, respondents predicted that budgets would need to increase significantly (35%) or slightly (36%) for strategic goals to be met.
But, as mentioned, board rooms are listening – a good proportion of mid-market healthcare IT decision-makers have better budgets to look forward to this year. 35% expect their IT budgets to increase over the next twelve months, a testament to those making the case for technology investment benefits.
As a result, we expect to see significant digital transformation progress in healthcare businesses whose budgets better align with IT priorities and requirements.
The budget outlook is potentially brighter, even for organisations not expecting a budget boost. Private healthcare, for example, – enormously impacted by COVID-19 – was forced to mature its data and technology infrastructure rapidly and dramatically. The sector was left with no choice but to divert budget to pandemic response IT.
However, with the preliminary pressure eased, healthcare IT decision makers have regained control over their budgets and may find it easier to be effective – and address priorities – with the cash available.
2. A HYBRID HEALTHCARE REVOLUTION
Of our surveyed sectors (healthcare, online retail, insurance and transport logistics), it was healthcare that came out on top for utilisation of hybrid cloud infrastructure.
And their lead constitutes a major strategic change. With just 29% using hybrid cloud infrastructure in 21/22, healthcare was lagging. But today, the sector is reporting 49% of their IT infrastructure as being hybrid – far overtaking previous leaders, insurance (39% in 21/22).
Perhaps not unexpectedly, healthcare is cutting back on its on-premises infrastructure. Owned hardware now only represents 9% of our surveyed decision makers’ IT estates – great news for security, resiliency and agility in a sector so dependent on speed, accuracy and privacy. From our data, it seems as if healthcare IT is on a determined path toward hybrid cloud maturity.
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3. MAKING IT HAPPEN WITH MANAGED SERVICES
Hybrid cloud delivers significant advantages and improvements for healthcare organisations;
more control over data governance, secure use of legacy and third-party infrastructure, accelerated application development and meeting fluctuating demand are just a few reasons why healthcare IT leaders favour a hybrid approach.
However, hybrid cloud infrastructure also introduces more complexity at the management and security level. And that may explain why so many (67%) of our surveyed healthcare IT decision makers reported a reliance on managed services in 2023.
In addition, 72% shared that working with a UK-based and owned Managed Service Provider was of paramount importance. There’s no doubt that when IT decision makers state this, they’re thinking about the data integrity, security and compliance priorities that healthcare holds in high regard.
2023 HEALTHCARE IT PRIORITIES WITH STATISTICS
- 30% say current budgets don’t meet IT ambitions
- 35% would need significant budget increases to meet ambitions
- 36% would need slight budget increases to meet ambitions
- 49% of IT infrastructure is predominantly hybrid cloud
- 9% of IT infrastructure classes as on-premises
- 67% say they are reliant on managed T services
- 72% say it’s important that Managed Service Providers are UK-owned
Are these IT priority trends reflected in your private healthcare organisation?
Get in touch with a Node4 consultant to discuss progressing or enhancing your IT priorities for the year ahead. Click below to arrange an initial conversation.