Operating more efficiently in a time of disruption

To get a handle on exactly how companies are adapting (specifically, midsize companies with 100-999 employees), IDG and Cisco polled business leaders responsible for IT purchases on what they plan to purchase and why, what challenges they face for procurement, and how recent events have impacted their plans. Overall, the survey found that midsize companies need greater operational efficiency—and that efficiency must drive improved profitability. They also need more robust security than ever before. And technology holds great promise for realizing all three goals.

Coming out of 2020, 68% of IT and business leaders at midsize companies reported that their use of applications and data storage in the cloud had gone up during the pandemic.

More than half of companies surveyed (56%) said they planned to increase software investments during the pandemic.

Looking to the future, industry observers expect many of the shifts caused by the pandemic will remain in place, including a more distributed workforce. With that clearly in mind, midsize company leaders detailed the types of technology their organizations plan to purchase in 2021. The top three areas of planned investment over the coming year, as revealed by the survey, were security (46%), the cloud, including multi-cloud setups and software-as-a service (SaaS) (43%), and hardware (37%).

According to the survey, nearly a third (30%) of applications in use at companies relying on the cloud in 2020 follow a SaaS model. When it comes to security, nearly half (48%) of IT and business managers at midsize companies prefer bundled SaaS solutions—including those that come with built-in security features—over individual solutions that require them to make separate purchases. According to survey respondents, the benefits of software bundled with integrated security include: 1) Easier maintenance and troubleshooting 2) Easier configuration 3) Improved user experience.

In order to help midsize businesses increase efficiency and improve profitability, Miraworks offers Miraworks CPQ (Configure-Price-Quote) – a sales tool for IT producers, OEMs, system integrators and distributors that provides accurate quotes for hardware equipment and software products.

Created by IT solutions architects and sales managers, Miraworks CPQ combines technology and sales expertise to help your company shorten sales cycles and increase your bottom line.

CPQ makes it possible to configure complex products and services, draw IT architecture diagrams, customize price calculations for individual clients and generate proposals and quotes within minutes.