A variety of obstacles have challenged businesses around the world in the last three years due to the global pandemic, often resulting in mass disruptions to internal systemizations. As such, businesses are seeking to improve and increase their digital solutions in response to supply chain issues and cybersecurity threats, which represent two of the most disruptive challenges for small and medium-sized (SME) businesses in Canada.
According to the Top Technology Trends 2022 report by Capterra, fifty-six percent of Canadian businesses plan to increase their budget for software and technology in 2023 by 10 to 20 percent over the previous year.
With hundreds of financial experts predicting an incoming recession, Canadian businesses must make strategic investment choices while under the cloud of economic uncertainty. Choosing technology investments must directly relate to industry-challenges with the solid understanding that these upgrades will ultimately help safeguard business growth.
Insights from the Top Technology Trends 2022 Report
The Top Technology Trends 2022 Report by Capterra analyzed the digital adoption plans of 261 Canadian SME businesses via an online survey sent in October 2022 to determine the emerging technology trends and software buying plans that may be popular in 2023.
The survey additionally includes data from 498 United States SMEs, 253 United Kingdom SMEs, 262 SME businesses in France, and 252 SME businesses from Australia. This article will focus on the Canadian business findings.
Capterra’s report shows 44% of Canadian businesses want to invest in supply chain management and 43% will focus on cybersecurity upgrades to help weather them through the storm of economic ambiguity. Businesses also have plans to invest in Sales CRM software (41%), IT management (37%), and HR management (36%).
“Businesses have been hit with a lot of challenges over the last three years, and they’re learning from their experiences. Many decision-makers have turned to technology and software to combat issues like the labour shortage or supply chain breakdown, while reaping additional benefits like improved productivity and efficiency.”
– Tessa Anaya, Content Analyst for Capterra
Notable Findings from The Top Technology Trends 2022 Report:
- Fifty-six percent of Canadian businesses plan to increase their budget for software and tech technology in 2023 by 10–20%.
- 12% of businesses will raise technology budgets by 21% or more compared to 2022.
- Over half of Canadian decision-makers (54%) surveyed have taken government aid to adopt new technology in the past 12 months.
- The highest priorities for software and technology adoption for Canadian businesses was supply chain management (44%) and cybersecurity (43%)
- The top three business goals were identified to be increased employee productivity (38%), revenue growth (37%), and an expanding customer base (35%).
- The most identified challenge when planning digital investments is identifying the right technology to adopt, cited by 41% of Canadian SMEs surveyed.
- Over half of Canadian managers described their companies’ approach to new technologies as “bold”; with 33% calling it ‘somewhat bold’ and 20% calling it ‘very bold’.
“Cybersecurity is as much a challenge as it is an opportunity. Innovations in online security services account for $1.7 billion of Canada’s GDP per year. Meanwhile, cybersecurity supports 20,000 jobs across the country, with the potential to create hundreds of thousands more around the world.”
– Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Investing in improvements and adoptions of new software and technology can be beneficial for businesses that access government funding programs to help them offset such tech enhancements, supporting their business’ growth, safety, innovation, and security.
Government Grants and Loans for Software and Technology
According to the Capterra report, 54% of Canadian businesses surveyed have accessed government funding support to adopt new technology in the past year.
Canadian capital investment and technology adoption funding programs are available to support businesses in offsetting costs of technology and software adoption projects. Eligible businesses can access grants and loans for software and technology at both the federal and provincial level to obtain innovative technologies and enhance their business performance.
One such program which is currently active is the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) which exists to support Canadian businesses specifically in digital solution adoptions to be able to remain competitive in this often disruptive digital age. Eligible applicants can receive up to $15,000 in grant funding for digital investments.
Additionally, any Canadian business interested in accessing government grants and/or loans for software and technology should keep an eye out for the Canada Growth Fund (CGF) which is set to open for intake soon. The CGF provides funding to accelerate the adoption of new technologies needed to reduce carbon emissions and grow the economy.
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