IT professionals in ANZ resist implementing emerging tech due to cost and lack of business objectives

Emerging technologies bring the potential for increased efficiencies, cost savings and improved security for enterprises but complexities in adoption have been revealed in a new global survey report from ISACA, The Pulse: Emerging Technology 2021. 

Businesses in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) are being hampered when it comes to implementing emerging technology, with 72% of IT professionals citing cost of implementation as a top reason for resistance, followed by 49% who indicate unclear business objectives as holding them back from implementation and 46% who cite cybersecurity risk.

“When business objectives are clear and risk is appropriately assessed and managed, emerging technologies can bring transformative benefits to an organisation,” says Dustin Brewer, ISACA senior director, emerging technology and innovation.

This inaugural survey, which gathered responses from 4,541 professionals around the world, first assessed how respondents define emerging technology. The top three characteristics classifying a technology as emerging, per global respondents, are technologies with significant disruptive capabilities, technologies with significant problem-solving capacity, and technologies that are recent discoveries.

In ANZ, the top emerging technologies in use at enterprises are Cloud 55%, AI 21% and the Internet of Things (IoT) 18%. The main motivation for adopting these and other emerging technologies include:
 

1. Anticipated cost savings 78% 
2. New revenue stream 54% 
3. Improved cybersecurity 53% 
4. The ability to reach new customers 51% 
5. To meet regulatory requirements 47% 
6. Increased agility 46% 

Leadership Support and Key Motivations

The survey findings also revealed that senior leadership generally supports emerging technology adoption, with 78% of respondents in ANZ indicating that their leadership provides moderate to very receptive support.

“As the survey findings show, there are varying levels of adoption depending on the technology, but signs are that leadership is keeping a close eye on technologies, including IoT and blockchain, to consider for future use if not already implemented,” adds Brewer.

Training is Important but Lacking

Globally, 91% of respondents agree that training and continuous education are essential for technology professionals, with 81% indicating they would like to specifically pursue more training on cloud technologies, and 69% expressing moderate-to-high interest in training for AI. 

While 60% of respondents in ANZ are optimistic about the impact of technological advancements on their career, half report their organisation is not investing in people skills to successfully navigate the changing tech landscape. The global findings indicate that leadership is aware of this issue, as 48% of the respondents identifying as executive leadership agree that investment in training is insufficient. 

“Prioritising people and investing in emerging technology training is key to not only achieving success with technology implementation but also ensuring the workforce has the cutting-edge skills needed in today’s evolving tech landscape,” says David Samuelson, ISACA CEO. 

The new report offers further insights into how global IT and business professionals view the benefits, risks, adoption barriers, knowledge gaps, and leadership’s willingness to adopt new tech. To read more, access a complimentary copy of The Pulse: Emerging Technology 2021, insights from industry leaders and related resources at www.isaca.org/emerging-tech-2021. ISACA offers additional emerging technology resources, trainings and credentials, including the new Certified in Emerging Technology (CET) stackable certification, at www.isaca.org/resources/emerging-technology-resources. 

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About ISACA

For more than 50 years, ISACA® (www.isaca.org) has advanced the best talent, expertise and learning in technology. ISACA equips individuals with knowledge, credentials, education and community to progress their careers and transform their organisations, and enables enterprises to train and build quality teams. ISACA is a global professional association and learning organisation that leverages the expertise of its more than 150,000 members who work in information security, governance, assurance, risk and privacy to drive innovation through technology. It has a presence in 188 countries, including more than 220 chapters worldwide. In 2020, ISACA launched One In Tech, a philanthropic foundation that supports IT education and career pathways for under-resourced, under-represented populations.

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