Rising to the Challenge: Business Leaders Optimistic for 2021
In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has touched every corner of the world. But even with this great upset, we’ve seen remarkable displays of resilience, flexibility, and perseverance. As we head into the next 12 months, we checked in with business leaders to see how they are feeling, which business lessons from 2020 they’re taking into 2021, and what role adopting new technology has played and will continue to play in their recovery and growth efforts.
Going into the pandemic, few organizations were prepared for the changes it brought into their business environment – remote work, employee safety, and a temporary hiatus on business travel. Two-third of executives say their technology infrastructure wasn’t prepared to handle the impact of the pandemic amidst economic uncertainty.
However, companies report better performance in below areas during the past 12 months are more likely to be optimistic about their business in 2021:
- Use of emerging technology
- Use of data and analytics
- Speed of decision-making
- Operational agility
Business leaders see technology as the key to navigating and growing in evolving times. 89% of global executives agree that implementing advanced technologies will be key to business resilience over the next 12 months. Among those advanced technologies, AI/ML are on the top the list for business leaders to harness.
Which goals will technology help serve? Over the next 12 months, growth-oriented goals, such as increasing sales, will be the priority for global business leaders. And they know cost control is the key. 88% of business leaders agree that finding new ways to manage travel, expense, and invoice is critical to staying profitable and continuing to grow.
Download the infographic to learn more about how global executives are leveraging travel, expense, and invoice solutions to keep their business going and moving faster.
