Almost all of the businesses surveyed (90%) for a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence expressed some degree of optimism about their expectations for performance in 2021 as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. This optimism comes alongside widespread reinvention in how many of these businesses will operate going forward.

Conducted by 451 Research, the enterprise technology research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, the survey also found that approximately 76% of responding organizations have undergone moderate to significant transformation in ways of working since the beginning of 2020, with smaller but still substantial groups pointing to transformation in IT business operations (52%) and revenue-generating activities (47%). Significant levels of business transformation showed a strong connection with the experience of disruption in 2020. Respondents who experienced major disruption were far more likely to have also undertaken a significant transformation in each of those categories.

“Since early 2020, we have been closely tracking businesses’ attitudes and reactions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and we have seen a wide variety of practices and technologies being adopted in response to it,” Liam Eagle, head of voice of the enterprise research at 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, said. “However, as businesses show optimism and focus on the future, many of them have also transformed. Our most recent survey highlights ways in which these organizations see themselves as fundamentally and permanently changed by the demands of 2020 in terms of how they work, how they execute IT and even, in many cases, the products and services they deliver and how they deliver them.”

The survey from 451 Research features responses collected between May 6 and June 21 from approximately 500 IT decision-makers across a range of industries. The new study tracked the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from initial impact to response and long-term planning.

Survey Highlights

• Enterprises faced significant disruption in 2020, but most are optimistic about performance in 2021. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of enterprises described the adverse impacts their businesses faced in 2020 as an either moderate or major disruption, with one-quarter (25%) indicating they faced major disruption. However, organizations overwhelmingly expressed positive expectations for 2021 performance, with 90% describing their expectations for 2021 as somewhat or very optimistic.
• 2020 featured the widespread reinvention of business processes. When asked about the degree to which their organizations had transformed since the beginning of 2020, responding enterprises indicated moderate or significant transformation to their ways of working (76%), IT business operations (52%) and revenue-generating or service delivery activities (47%).
• Disruption and reinvention are closely connected. Enterprises that experienced major disruption during 2020 were much more likely than average to have undergone significant transformation with respect to ways of working (62% vs. 42%), IT business operations (30% vs. 18%) and revenue-generating activities (40% vs. 16%).
• Pandemic-imposed practices have become permanent ways of working for many. Nearly all enterprises surveyed (93%) reported their ways of working have been at least slightly transformed since the beginning of 2020, with 42% indicating significant transformation. Among those, most expect to be fundamentally different going forward in that they will be significantly more reliant on remote work (75%), significantly more reliant on technology for internal collaboration (69%) and significantly less reliant on business travel (58%). Close to half (40%) expect significantly reduced office space or workspaces.
• New requirements have driven a lasting transformation of IT processes. Responding to operational challenges posed by 2020 required enterprises to rely on new technologies, and 83% of enterprises surveyed described some degree of transformation in their IT business operations as a result. More than half (59%) of those reported being more security-conscious in their decision-making, and almost as many (57%) noted increased reliance on cloud-based technologies. Nearly half (48%) also noted greater automation in their IT infrastructure operations.
• Transformation during 2020 aligns with increased IT spending across categories; however, that growth shows signs of slowing in key cases. Significant portions of the responding enterprises increased spending during 2020 in several IT categories, led by employee productivity tools (45%), information security (42%) and public cloud (32%).