Cyber-threats are increasing and there is the likelihood of these becoming more sophisticated in 2023. This likelihood is captured in the November 2022 Business Trends report from Capterra, which focuses on the Canadian economy. Like other advanced industrialised nations, 2023 is set to be economically disruptive for large parts of the Canadian business community.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has intimated that “difficult days” may lie ahead in the Canadian economy.
To add to the cybersecurity threats, the survey also finds that supply chain issues will continue to be problematic. These two issues are seemingly the most disruptive challenges faced by Canadian small and medium sized enterprises.
Various risk factors suggest the challenges that cyber-threats will continue to be present, especially for Canadian companies next year. In terms of responses, it appears that many firms are turning to digital solutions in response.
The Capterra report has been compiled from interviews with 260 business leaders across Canada. The objective was to understand the technology that major firms plan to invest in next year as well as their top business goals and challenges.
The top three business goals that Canadian businesses owners identified for 2023 include:
- Increasing employee productivity (ranked by 38 percent of respondents). One means to achieve this, as mentioned by a sizable number of respondents, is though ‘upskilling’ employees. In response, 36 percent of firms are planning to invest in human resources systems in the coming year.
- Growing company revenues (ranked by 37 percent).
- Growing the customer base and/or market share (mentioned by 35 percent).
These are followed by seeking to manage projects efficiently and effectively and the ongoing impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to achieve these business goals, over half (56 percent) of businesses indicate that they plan to increase their software and technology budget by 10-20 percent, with investments in supply chain management, cybersecurity, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.
In addition, some firms are even more cautious with a further 12 percent set to raise budgets even higher (21 percent or more than last year).
In terms of the likely expenditure, supply chain management software was revealed as the most prioritised tool amongst businesses surveyed, cited by 44 percent of respondents, followed by cybersecurity software (43 percent).
