Microsoft has rolled out a series of new laptops with OEM partners. Windows 11 SE is designed to take on Chromebooks in education and is optimized for Microsoft Edge, Office, and Microsoft’s cloud-based services. Third-party apps like Zoom and Chrome can be installed via a selection of authorized apps.
Gartner has new data on the size of the IT market. The analyst says that for 2022, IT spending should exceed pre-pandemic levels by growing 5.1% this year, reaching 4.5 trillion dollars. Enterprise software, including cloud, will increase the most at 11% year-over-year growth. The IT services segment — which includes consulting and management services — is expected to have the second-highest spending growth in 2022, reaching $1.3 trillion, up 7.9% from 2021.
One of those services is cloud migrations from legacy IT, which a study by Achive360 highlights significant barriers around data regulation, security, and uncertain costs. The report found that only 35% of organizations store more than 50% of their legacy app data on cloud services. Yet more than 80% say their priority is to move their data within 12 months or sooner.
60% said data compliance was a big concern with changing data regulations in California and Europe; security is a huge concern for 55%, especially with the rise in ransomware and the hefty fines if hackers gain access to data, and about 50% said they had uncertainty over budgets for cloud-based IT plus there is a significant lack of IT talent in this area.
Why do we care?
All the problems highlighted today continue to be those hard ones. Pick any one of these areas, and it’s a sea of problems to solve and revenue to generate. Rather than pick any one, I’ll observe that consulting should be coming back into vogue. Your real value is in being that consultant, far more than keeping the lights on. Don’t devalue the consultancy.