Research & Innovation

Expleo, the technology partner for innovative companies, has announced the results of a survey which found that the average Irish enterprise will spend €714,784 on making their technology infrastructure more environmentally sustainable in the next year – up 24% on the previous year.

As more and more organisations pursue environmentally sustainable agendas, it is increasingly impacting who they choose to do business with. As a result, businesses are finding that they must invest in their infrastructure to meet not only their own sustainability goals, but those of their partners too. However, Expleo’s survey of 143 IT-decision makers* from medium to large-sized enterprises across the island of Ireland found that 62% of respondents believe their organisation is not doing enough to make their IT infrastructure or projects environmentally friendly.

The research further revealed that Irish IT leaders anticipate a move towards greater regulations of businesses when it comes to their carbon footprint. In fact, 39% of respondents think all organisations will be regulated to operate in a carbon neutral manner by 2024.

The findings of the survey also provided insights into other technology trends that Ireland’s IT decision-makers expect by 2024:

• Arrival of 5G: As Ireland’s telecoms operators begin the rollout of fifth generation mobile network technology, more than half (55%) of IT decision-makers anticipate that 5G will be fully operational in Ireland by 2024.
• A new surge of digital transformation: One quarter (24%) of IT decision-makers predict that artificial intelligence and machine learning will become more reliable than humans in making critical business decisions in the next five years.
• Smart cities: Despite more than one-in-four (26%) respondents predicting that Irish motorists will have the ability to purchase driverless cars by 2024, 62% believe that Ireland will lag behind other European countries when it comes to ‘smart city’ solutions.

Phil Codd (pictured), Managing Director of Expleo Ireland, said: “Our survey has revealed that while Irish businesses are keen to make the move towards carbon neutrality, many still feel that they are not doing enough. Businesses need to look at every aspect of their organisation to see how they can make positive changes. It’s not just about making financial investments; it’s about looking at the organisation in its entirety to see how technologies and processes can be transformed to enable more sustainable work practices.

“It is interesting to see that while they are optimistic about the rollout of 5G technology and the arrival of driverless cars, Ireland’s IT leaders fail to see Ireland becoming a European leader in smart city solutions. Perhaps this is a reflection of the current IT skills shortage, which means many Irish enterprises don’t have the resources to research and develop new technologies.

“Our research also suggests that Irish organisations are excited about the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Irish businesses are in a position to leverage the power of automation and in doing so, enable employees to concentrate on critical tasks, focus on business growth and propel Ireland forward as a major technology leader.”

*This survey was commissioned by Expleo and carried out by TechPro among 143 senior IT professionals and decision-makers in Irish-based businesses, which were typically larger enterprises.