Firms need to invest in best-of-breed IT in 2022

New Year’s resolutions are sometimes a challenge to follow through on due to a whole host of reasons. However, a manageable resolution for IT professionals and accounting firm leaders heading into 2022 is to provide first-rate IT solutions to their employees and firms.

Investing in superb technology is beneficial in innumerable ways to firms overall, and employees specifically. As the transition to more flexible and remote work options continues, it is juxtaposed with increased cybersecurity risks. Below are some of the benefits of investing in best-of-breed IT in 2022.

• Attract and retain superior employees. Outdated technology can decrease a firm’s ability to attract and retain high-quality talent, which is especially concerning in the current tight labor market. A survey titled the State of Software Happiness Report 2019 found that more than half of all employees are unhappy at work because of the software tools they are using. About a quarter of employees said the software they are using caused them to consider leaving their jobs. Further, more than one in eight employees indicated they have quit a job because of mismatched software.
• Provide employees access to new technology. According to a study completed by Adobe, 32% of employees said they left a position because their employers’ technology “was a barrier to their ability to do good work” and almost half said they would be likely to leave a job if unhappy or frustrated with the technology used at work. 
• Provide employees choices of tools to achieve positive outcomes. Research suggests it is important to trust employees to know the right IT tools for themselves in order to be successful in achieving the goals of the business they are involved with. Offer employees the opportunity to have input into the best-of-breed options right for them so they can be successful in helping achieve the desired outcomes necessary for a firm’s success. 
• Proactively support remote and flexible work environments. As more people work remotely, IT professionals are shifting from “reactively supporting telecommuters to proactively empowering them.” Employees are requiring access to hardware, software, and cloud services to effectively work remotely. 
• Offer employees manageable cybersecurity measures. A 2020 global study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and reported by IBM found that businesses have slowly improved in their ability to “plan for, detect and respond to cyberattacks over the past five years, [however,] their ability to contain an attack has declined by 13% during this same period.” Respondents to the survey said that their security responses were harmed in part by the use of too many cybersecurity tools and a lack of specific instructions for common cyberattacks.

Best-of-breed technology is vital to the success of employees, whether working in a remote locale or in an office. However, what are the benefits of best-of-breed IT solutions for firm leaders and IT professionals?

• Increased technology encourages innovation. Advanced best-of-breed technology helps firms solve complex problems and develop enhanced business strategies.  
• Expectations of clients have increased. According to the Harvard Business Review, clients expect more than a seamless digital transaction. Rather, as companies have clients’ personal data, they want anticipatory and personalized experiences. Using best-of-breed IT helps support and safeguard the customers’ increased expectations.
• Specialized qualities offer firms more in-depth tools and functionality. As described by Workforce.com, the specialized functions of best-of-breed IT allow for businesses to maximize performance within a particular niche.
• Desire to maintain best-of-breed IT status requires frequent software updates. Firms investing in best-of-breed IT will benefit from the continued software updates necessary for the vendor to retain the ranking of best-of-breed. 
• Flexibility and scalability are qualities of best-of-breed IT, designed for the clients’ niche and needs. Best-of-breed options are able to grow with the firm’s needs and are flexible to change and implement.

Investing in best-of-breed IT solutions is an important decision for C-suite executives to make; however, it will pay off in the long term due to its innovative platform and enhanced security measures for the increasingly digital world. Increased employee satisfaction and performance fostered by best-of-breed IT solutions will create positive outcomes for firm leaders. Investing in best-of-breed IT heading into 2022 is one resolution they can definitely keep!