Post-Pandemic IT: Digital Transformation and Sustainability

Decades-old research (by the authors and others) on global Information Technology (IT) trends demonstrates a steady increase in IT’s role in organizational competitiveness. Digital transformation is bringing profound change to everything we do. Nowhere has this been more apparent than the changes demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the impact on every company began well before and will continue long after the pandemic. What has differentiated the pandemic conundrum is the ubiquity of the impact, a reality that demanded immediate changes to strategies and plans. This research analyzes IT issues and trends before and during the pandemic using data from global IT trends research and surveys to project how IT sustainability will be shaped post-pandemic. The paper examines the top significant management concerns and technology considerations to project the pandemic’s lasting impact on IT and to answer the important question: Will IT revert back to where we were pre-pandemic? We conclude that the changes in IT, and specifically, digital transformation, are not just the result of an emergency-induced pivot, but a broad recognition that IT will sustain its fundamental role in driving/enabling significant economic value across every organization. The research concludes that IT in the post-pandemic era will continue to grow as an essential vehicle for competitive advantage and agility, while promoting sustainability through digital transformation.