Technology is still not being used strategically by mid-sized organisations in the UK, according to new research.
Nearly one third of business managers have no IT strategy within their organisation, a study conducted by market research firm Dynamic Markets claims.
The report also found that just under a third of firms admitted to working to a loose informal plan, while another third were just buying systems as they need them.
As a result, 35 per cent of respondents said that their business growth is putting pressure on existing IT infrastructure.
The research, commissioned by service management company Partners in IT, unearthed correlations between mid-sized companies' IT strategies and the knock-on effect this has for purchasing decisions when buying technology to support the business.
Only 18 per cent of respondents have a formal IT plan which has been approved by the board, and only 16 per cent plan their IT investment on a three to five year timeline in line with current business plans.
This may go some way to explaining why 55 per cent of business managers in mid-sized companies believe that their IT set-up is not providing good value for money, according to the research.
Some 85 per cent of these organisations have no tangible IT strategy in place and are not always buying best-in-class technology, and various IT systems are operating in isolation at 65 per cent of the companies surveyed.
"Having seen how few mid-sized companies had any form of IT strategy in place to support the business, I was not surprised to see the overall negative perception of business managers about their IT infrastructures," said Paul Cash, managing director of Partners in IT.
"For companies of this size, it is critical to be able to retain control of IT spending and investment.
"But the IT systems in place in many of these organisations due to a lack of IT strategy have resulted in a staggering 68 per cent of respondents not finding their IT costs predictable and 33 per cent believing that the IT infrastructure costs are too much to maintain.
"As harsh as it may sound, these companies may only have themselves to blame as they are not using IT as a strategic tool to help their businesses become successful."
