CDW Canada, a leading provider of technology solutions and services for Canadian organizations, today released new research about the barriers Canadian workers are facing in the digital workspace. The Digital Workspace Survey hosted on the Angus Reid Forum, surveyed over 1,000 hybrid workers across Canada.
Proper IT can increase productivity
The survey found that Canadian hybrid workers who experience IT issues reported losing an average of three hours a week dealing with IT issues. This indicates a massive loss of productivity from hardware and software that isn’t optimized for hybrid work, as well as an opportunity for employers to increase productivity through proper IT investments.
Most hybrid workers cited network connectivity (loss of 2.6 hours) and VPN connectivity (loss of 2.2 hours) as key IT issues. Other issues included lack of IT technical support, trouble sharing documents with team members, disruptions and connection issues on video calls and lack of additional monitors.
How investing in IT for hybrid work can benefit small businesses
Financial barriers can pose a threat when investing in the right IT for hybrid work, however, not investing comes with heightened cybersecurity risks. Investing in technology without considering security can cause greater financial and reputational impacts in the event of a security incident. This situation is most prevalent with small businesses (organizations with less than 100 employees) as employees are more likely to face financial barriers in a hybrid work environment. The survey
found that more than one third (37 percent) of respondents reported having to choose and pay for their own IT equipment. This lies in contrast to one-in-ten employees (13 percent) working at large businesses who must do the same.
A lack of IT investment impacts personal device usage and security posture. Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents working at a small business reported using a personal device to access work related files or perform work tasks more than once a day.
Security concerns impact IT decision-makers’ ability to work from home
IT decision-makers were less comfortable working from home due to their increased awareness of cybersecurity and understanding of the risks when working in a hybrid model.
The survey found that nearly one-in-five (18 percent) IT decision-makers reported data security and privacy reasons preventing them from working from home compared to only three percent of non-IT decision-makers.
Concerns over cybersecurity for IT decision-makers are echoed in CDW Canada’s 2023 Security Study, which surveyed 553 IT security and risk & compliance professionals. The study found that two-in-five (40 percent) respondents that store their organization’s data in the cloud – an essential tool for hybrid work – said they experienced a security incident in the cloud during the past year. Further, only one third (30 percent) of respondents said a policy exists in their organizations for monitoring and detecting threats within data, assets, applications and services. These findings can speak to the elevated concerns of IT decision-makers found in the Digital Workspace Survey.
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Hybrid Workers in Canada Are Losing Nearly Three Hours a Week due to IT Issues: CDW
CDW Canada, a leading provider of technology solutions and services for Canadian organizations, today released new research about the barriers Canadian workers are facing in the digital workspace. The Digital Workspace Survey hosted on the Angus Reid Forum, surveyed over 1,000 hybrid workers across Canada.
Proper IT can increase productivity
The survey found that Canadian hybrid workers who experience IT issues reported losing an average of three hours a week dealing with IT issues. This indicates a massive loss of productivity from hardware and software that isn’t optimized for hybrid work, as well as an opportunity for employers to increase productivity through proper IT investments.
Most hybrid workers cited network connectivity (loss of 2.6 hours) and VPN connectivity (loss of 2.2 hours) as key IT issues. Other issues included lack of IT technical support, trouble sharing documents with team members, disruptions and connection issues on video calls and lack of additional monitors.
How investing in IT for hybrid work can benefit small businesses
Financial barriers can pose a threat when investing in the right IT for hybrid work, however, not investing comes with heightened cybersecurity risks. Investing in technology without considering security can cause greater financial and reputational impacts in the event of a security incident. This situation is most prevalent with small businesses (organizations with less than 100 employees) as employees are more likely to face financial barriers in a hybrid work environment. The survey
found that more than one third (37 percent) of respondents reported having to choose and pay for their own IT equipment. This lies in contrast to one-in-ten employees (13 percent) working at large businesses who must do the same.
A lack of IT investment impacts personal device usage and security posture. Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents working at a small business reported using a personal device to access work related files or perform work tasks more than once a day.
Security concerns impact IT decision-makers’ ability to work from home
IT decision-makers were less comfortable working from home due to their increased awareness of cybersecurity and understanding of the risks when working in a hybrid model.
The survey found that nearly one-in-five (18 percent) IT decision-makers reported data security and privacy reasons preventing them from working from home compared to only three percent of non-IT decision-makers.
Concerns over cybersecurity for IT decision-makers are echoed in CDW Canada’s 2023 Security Study, which surveyed 553 IT security and risk & compliance professionals. The study found that two-in-five (40 percent) respondents that store their organization’s data in the cloud – an essential tool for hybrid work – said they experienced a security incident in the cloud during the past year. Further, only one third (30 percent) of respondents said a policy exists in their organizations for monitoring and detecting threats within data, assets, applications and services. These findings can speak to the elevated concerns of IT decision-makers found in the Digital Workspace Survey.
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This entry was posted on August 29, 2023 at 8:00 am and is filed under Commentary with tags CDW. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.