Irish firms continue to face hybrid work challenges five years on from pandemic
89% of IT decision-makers say they invested in software-as-a-service (SaaS) communication and collaboration tools in response to the pandemic.
Five years on from the first covid-19 lockdown, employers continue to face challenges surrounding hybrid work, new data from IT provider Datapac shows.
Newly released research indicates that Irish organisations that rapidly adopted remote working strategies in response to the pandemic are now increasingly focused on implementing more robust, permanent technologies to support long-term hybrid-work.
According to Datapac, some 96% of organisations are now operating hybrid working models. Five years on from the initial shift, organisations continue to face significant challenges, with work-life balance (39%), training and development (36%), cybersecurity (34%), and communication and collaboration (31%) identified as key ongoing issues.
In addition, 89% of IT decision-makers say they invested in software-as-a-service (SaaS) communication and collaboration tools in response to the pandemic. However, this trend has endured, with 57% of businesses reporting increased investment in these tools since the pandemic, and 31% maintaining their investment levels.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Irish businesses say they are using Microsoft 365 to support collaboration and productivity. Some 46% of IT decision-makers would rate their IT infrastructure's ability to support hybrid work as only “somewhat” or “not too” capable.
“Five years on from Ireland’s widespread move to remote working, our research shows that many organisations are still facing substantial challenges in fully embedding hybrid working into their long-term strategies," said Kevin Hall, Senior Systems Engineer, Datapac.
"Organisations must evaluate if their current technology genuinely supports their goals, particularly when issues around work-life balance and cybersecurity remain widespread."
