This year's annual business trends report from Advanced has polled over 5,000 senior decision makers within the UK on the key challenges facing them.
It offers even more insight and depth into the way we are working and using technology to support different aspects of working life as processes and standard practices to continue to evolve. There is also the addition of data for five key sector areas, making it one of the largest investigations into business trends in the UK.
Chapter 01
Technology in a hybrid world
The cost-of-living crisis and flat-line state of the UK economy
presents real and present challenges for business. 78% of
individuals in our survey are concerned that economic
conditions will impact their organisation’s profitability over
the next 12 months.
Chapter 02
Leadership
Business leaders remain focused on business growth and
development for 2022, and 55% say it is their organisation’s
main priority, the same as last year. 42% say their business
leadership is prioritising increased profit this year, with a focus
on regaining lost ground and embedding new working practices,
such as hybrid, with appropriate technology to achieve this.
Chapter 03
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)
Promoting greater diversity and inclusivity within the workplace has
been an area of growing focus for many organisations over recent
years, recognising the importance of ensuring that everyone is
welcomed, supported and heard.
Chapter 04
The Environment
The survey highlights the increased importance of educating staff
and customers (43%), increasing the efficiency of lighting (36%)
and switching to a green energy provider (31%). Only 3% say
they are taking no steps. The steps identified represent the
lowhanging fruit opportunities - longer lasting reductions will
take collective business prioritisation.
Chapter 05
Cyber Security
Remote working has undoubtedly increased awareness around
the need for cyber-security and 58% tell us they believe that
hybrid working has put their organisation at greater risk of
cyber-attack. Ransomware attacks have been on the rise and
many businesses have experienced data leaks, crypto-mining
attacks, hacking and other potentially devastating incidents.
Chapter 06
Sector Insights
This year we have expanded our research to uncover more insight
in key business sectors and understand some of the main challenges
they experience. Some are sector and discipline-specific, while others
offer useful observations with a wider application across other
departments and organisation types. This is an overview of the main
findings for each.
2022 and Beyond
This is an undoubtedly challenging period for businesses. After two years of struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic and the remaining uncertainties of post-Brexit commerce, the UK is now experiencing rocketing energy and fuel costs. All this, alongside the war in Ukraine, has contributed to a cost-ofliving crisis that is being felt by individuals and businesses at all levels.
The focus remains firmly on achieving business growth and profit, at a time when organisations are finding it more difficult than ever to attract and recruit talent and there is a record number of unfilled job vacancies.