How the IT rends sur ey by NOVIPRO Group helps solve businesses’ problems
The IT solutions provider releases eighth edition of annual IT report surveying companies across Canada
For the past 30 years, NOVIPRO Group has been helping other businesses meet their Information Technology (IT) needs and modernize their use of IT technologies. “Our goal is to meet and create value with our customers in their day-today challenges,” says Martin Pelletier, NOVIPRO Group’s chief strategic initiatives.
Since 2022, NOVIPRO has been part of the NOVIPRO Group, which is a leading Canadian consolidator of information technology solution providers.
Now, the IT consolidator is gearing up to release the eighth edition of its IT Trends survey on Wednesday, April 24. More than 450 Canadian companies from coast to coast were surveyed this year, resulting in a report of more than 200 pages, 75 of which are the IT Trends.
NOVIPRO Group also held four roundtable discussions with external partners (e.g. IBM, Nutanix, Microsoft, Infor and Data Sentinel), internal experts, customers and industry figures (e.g., doctors and professors) to get their points of view and insights to the
data without impacting the results.
DRIVING CANADIAN BUSINESSES INTO THE FUTURE
Since 2017, NOVIPRO Group has been conducting the survey to better understand IT challenges for businesses by asking 40 questions to each participating organization. The report initially aimed to help companies familiarize themselves with the industry before becoming a tool to help them determine which of their IT needs require more investment in the coming year.
“We’ve changed it to really be a decision-making guide for anyone in IT, or any company in Canada that wants to put a good strategy in place,” says Marie-claude Desrochers, NOVIPRO’S director
of business partner programs.
The data is collected by Leger Marketing to ensure the results aren’t influenced by external factors, such as NOVIPRO Group’s own views or needs. “It’s really on topic. It’s really confidential,” says Desrochers.
“It’s not ‘Coca-cola sugar-coded’ industry study. We really want it to be focused on the real [experiences] of companies across Canada.”
HOW THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE ORGANIZED
The report is divided into six sections covering the most pressing topics in the IT world: impact and influence of IT, socio-economic factors, tech solutions (artificial intelligence, cloud, etc.), cybersecurity, HR, and modernization. While many of the questions asked are repeats from previous years, the goal is to discover possible IT patterns among companies.
“What we’ve been doing for the past two years has often been as much about giving us market information as anything else,” says Pelletier. “Now, the tool is being used by our customers and by different companies to compare themselves against others in the Canadian market, to see if they’re experiencing similar problems.”
While COVID was happening, NOVIPRO Group saw companies investing more in cybersecurity, though some have invested less in it last year due to inflation and socioeconomic uncertainty. “We’re seeing a reinvestment in IT, probably because companies see a better future in terms of interest rates,” adds Pelletier.
For the first time, each section lists a big question that organizations should ask themselves to spark internal discussions about their IT approaches, and which areas to focus on in the coming year. Each section also identifies risks and opportunities for companies to ponder and discuss with their teams, plus a few fun facts.
“If a CEO is reading the report, they should take these questions and ask the IT team to respond to them,” Desrochers says. “If you are the IT decision maker, you should put in place a strategy with these questions.”
“And you need to have an answer!”, interjects Pelletier.
The goal is for IT to be something companies integrate into each of their processes. “A lot of times, they only think about IT at the end of it, or when they have problems,” says Desrochers. “They should think about including IT at the beginning of every strategic decision made by companies in general.”
RESPONDING TO THE AI REVOLUTION
AI is a trend companies especially need to adapt to quickly. NOVIPRO Group knows this, with survey results showing that 42 per cent of participants want to invest in AI this year, compared to 26 per cent in the 2023 edition. But simply setting aside money isn’t enough.
“AI by itself is not a solution. AI needs to be planned with a business objective in mind. What processes are we trying to improve? What issues are we trying to solve? By designing a solution and leveraging AI with the end-result objective in mind, businesses greatly enhance the chances of success,” Desrochers continues
Clearly, generative AI isn’t going anywhere, and it’s helped make this survey more important than ever for companies to follow. “Generative AI is here to revolutionize the world,” says Pelletier.
“We’re in a period where it’s going to take people somewhere else, like the internet did in the early days. Gen AI is here, and there are a lot of questions. We’re trying to answer them better.”
In this technological climate, investing in IT is a must for any company hoping to keep the lights on in the coming years. So, do the survey results actually change companies’ IT strategies? According to Pelletier, yes and no.
“Unfortunately, some companies still view IT teams as a necessary evil,” he continues. “On the other hand, our clients’ companies that decide to make the IT department a pillar of their go-to-market strategy are the most successful today.”
The eighth edition of NOVIPRO Group’s IT Trends survey will be released this Wednesday, April 24. Visit