Overcoming the SMB productivity challenges of hybrid working

After the massive disruption of recent years, working life is beginning to settle down again and organisations all over the world are quickly learning how to adapt to the universally popular hybrid working model.

However, there’s still plenty of work to be done. New research from Dynabook shows that many European small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are still in transition with two-thirds (67 per cent) yet to fully optimise their IT solutions for hybrid working.

The pressures of the new landscape have meant that SMBs are now dealing with more complex IT challenges than ever before in terms of reliability, security and productivity.

The good news is that 44 per cent of Europe’s SMBs are benefitting from an increased IT budget this year which is sure to help address some of these challenges. This article will explore where Europe’s SMBs plan to prioritise their investment (and their efforts) within a rapidly evolving technology market. 

Addressing the challenges of downtime

Reducing IT downtime in the new hybrid environment turned out to be a leading challenge for just over half (51 per cent) of respondents. Almost half of European SMBs are losing approximately 12 days per year for every employee – with only 16 per cent believing they have enough IT resource to support their workforce.

Many larger organisations are turning to managed service providers (MSPs) for support, but cost is a barrier here for SMBs. For those who have decided outsourcing isn’t for them, 36 per cent cite cost as their main reason for not working with MSPs.

Looking for a more cost-effective alternative, many SMBs are putting their faith in affordable and reliable technology which can reduce IT management, while still delivering the benefits needed for hybrid work.

Laptops are a key component of this strategy, along with other well-established technologies such as cloud platforms and emerging technologies like Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). That would explain why purchasing decisions for VDI deployments are considered more important now for 55 per cent of SMB IT leaders than before the pandemic.

Cybersecurity increasingly top of mind

One of the biggest drawbacks of the shift to hybrid working has been the rapid increase in cybersecurity attacks. Insufficient network and device security was a predictable result of the desperate scramble to stay operational during those early periods of lockdown when the only priority was staying open for business. It’s no surprise then that cyber security, cloud-based solutions and remote IT support are currently among the top IT investment priorities across Europe as SMBs attempt to redress the balance.

Our research found that 45 per cent of SMBs considered security to be the most challenging element of IT to manage during the pandemic. This is divided between network security (24 per cent) and device security (21 per cent), highlighting the need for security to underpin every element of the IT infrastructure.

With Sophos reporting that 66 per cent of organisations were hit by a ransomware attack last year – compared to just 37 per cent in 2020 – it’s easy to understand why security is such a pressing concern for SMBs that risk crippling financial and reputational damage in the event of a breach.

Which aspect of infrastructure to focus on first?

What’s abundantly clear is that for many SMBs, there are a number of areas which need addressing across the entirety of their IT infrastructure. In fact, only 30 per cent fully agree that they have achieved hybrid or remote working in its most optimal state.

46 per cent of IT decision makers regard improving their cyber security infrastructure as an investment priority for the next 12 months. Exactly the same percentage will be focusing on cloud-based solutions.

We also discovered that the value placed on mobile devices is greater than ever, and for good reason. Mobile devices, and particularly laptops, can deliver increasing employee productivity and collaboration while also ensuring security and reliability. In fact, 64 per cent of SMB IT leaders consider purchasing decisions around laptops to be more important now than before the pandemic.

It’s no surprise then, given the increasingly central role of hardware within the hybrid ecosystem, that 89 per cent of SMBs believe they need a full or partial device refresh.

So, what should they be looking for? Lightweight, robust devices which offer an array of connectivity options, in-built security tools, and the latest 12th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors to power employees throughout the working day no matter where they happen to be working.

Using reliable hardware within a network which prioritises security and collaboration, SMB IT decision makers can provide both their business and their employees with the tools they need to prosper in today’s hybrid world.