Boost your tech’s ROI: Strategies for staying competitive with tighter budgets and fewer resources

In today’s fast-paced digital economy, technology leaders play a critical role in ensuring the success and growth of their organizations. CIOs in particular are at the forefront of navigating an increasingly complex and ever-evolving business landscape. Budgetary constraints, dwindling resources, and maintaining a competitive edge amidst growth are but a snippet of what CIOs have to grapple with daily.

In this blog, we’ll unpack these challenges and explore how tech leaders can use a modern integration platform as a service (iPaaS) to maintain business growth and stay competitive.

Digital age challenges for CIOs

Also known as an “economic downturn,” economic uncertainty describes a period of slow growth and/or a recession. Whether it’s opting for growth, applying the recession playbook, or adopting a wait-and-watch strategy, the risk factor is significantly high, especially for businesses maneuvering through turbulent industries or intensely competitive markets.

Some of the key challenges that CIOs face include:

1. SaaS sprawl and decentralized IT: Only about 29% of the approximately 1,000 SaaS apps used by the average company are integrated into the organization’s core systems, according to a 2023 Salesforce survey. The quick and often ad-hoc introduction of SaaS tools, usually without IT’s prior consultation, results in an application sprawl and siloed information. This digital friction debilitates productivity, team performance, and can also lead to unutilized SaaS licenses and potential security risks.
2. Ongoing digital transformation initiatives: Digital transformation to unlock new value and drive efficiency is on most organizations’ agenda, regardless of the economy’s state. However, these projects demand resources and budget considerations. 
3. Budget challenges: Gartner forecasts 8% growth in IT spending for 2024, marking a significant leap from the past two years. During an economic downturn, the dilemma of achieving more with less is a familiar one for IT leaders. The need to reduce costs while continuing to deliver innovative solutions can be challenging, especially when considering the constantly evolving nature of cybersecurity threats.
4. Talent shortages: Competent technologists are in skyrocketing demand, with the global developer market feeling the pinch. According to TechTarget, a staggering 70% of digital leaders expressed the challenge of keeping up with tech trends due to a scarcity of skilled workers. This issue is further compounded by an annual team churn rate of 11%, as employees seek higher salaries elsewhere. The scarcity of skilled labor to keep up with ever-changing tech trends poses a serious challenge for CIOs as they scramble to leverage and retain current talent.

Benefits of a modern iPaaS for tech leaders

Despite these challenges, CIOs can continue to drive growth within their organizations with a modern iPaaS. While a traditional iPaaS maximizes the productivity of technical resources, a modern iPaaS enhances the productivity of everyone in the organization.

The platform empowers all users to proactively tackle integration challenges and identify areas for performance enhancement. With a modern iPaaS, dedicated developer resources are only needed for the most complex integration projects. Business users can now create their own basic integrations, democratizing automation, analytics, and data access.

These are just a few of the benefits of a modern iPaaS:

• Taking the reins of SaaS usage and expenditure: By integrating data across applications and automating critical business processes, an iPaaS can curtail unauthorized SaaS usage and the resulting sprawl. This empowers IT with a necessary oversight function while providing employees with timely and relevant data, hence reducing dependence on Shadow IT applications.
• Driving digital transformation: A modern iPaaS demystifies and digitizes current functions and processes, acting as a stepping stone in the digital transformation journey. By collating all data connections into an easily navigable system, an iPaaS supports large scale digital transformation across the enterprise.
• Showcasing value: Justifying tech expenditures and optimizing current investments is crucial for CIOs. Automation projects that offer measurable improvements in key metrics can serve as concrete proof of the value of IT initiatives. Through automation of existing manual processes with an iPaaS, CIOs can articulate the cost savings and enhancements realized.
• Cutting down on risk and preparing for change: Investing in a modern iPaaS minimizes risk by offering a flexible resource that trims operational expenses while backing growth initiatives. Better evaluation of tool usage and tapping into internal and external IT talent can help CIOs drive digital transformation initiatives at a quicker pace and at a lower cost.

Charting a course for the future

Amidst trying economic circumstances, persistent digital transformation, and talent shortages, CIOs can find a lifeline in a modern iPaaS. By controlling SaaS usage, propelling digital transformation, showcasing value, and mitigating risk, CIOs can successfully steer through the choppy economic waters, leading their teams and organizations towards a prosperous future.

Find out why the Celigo platform is the ideal modern iPaaS for IT leaders who want the flexibility and built-in expertise to reduce the risk of economic uncertainty.

Learn more in the eBook