Dive Brief:

• Over two-thirds (61%) of business leaders in the technology industry think a potential recession will brighten their business outlook, according to an Ernst & Young (E&Y) Pulse Poll. 
• Despite current economic headwinds, 50% of the 250 U.S. tech executives surveyed said that they will implement growth strategies. “The view for them is to be able to put focus back on their core businesses. This gives them a chance to reset, review and make sure they're in the right place in two, three years from now,” said Ken Englund, Americas technology, media and telecommunications leader for consulting firm EY, in an interview. 
• The surveyed leaders ranged from positions of vice president, senior vice president, and the C-suite level and cited re-focusing on remote work, embracing new technologies, and investing in their workforce as ways to stay competitive and prepare for headwinds on the horizon.

Dive Insight:

Almost three-fourths (74%) of leaders surveyed believe that investing in skills development and continuing education is necessary in order to remain in a competitive position amid an economic recession. 

“When you look at the population of tech companies, historically, they have always had a sort of growth at all costs mentality,” said Englund. 

In terms of how the tech industry plans to position themselves for growth amid headwinds, 70% said investing in the flexibility of remote work is key from both an employee benefit as well as a cost-cutting standpoint. 

“Virtual work was originally positioned as an employee benefit discussion. We're starting to see executives view this as a cost saving opportunity as well, as they make less of a physical footprint,” said Englund. 

A key part of driving growth strategies in a recessionary environment is investing in resources to mitigate the talent problem that finance leaders are facing as well as supply chain disruptions, according to the survey. 

Sixty-eight percent of tech executives are investing in new emerging technologies, 62% in digital transformation strategies, cybersecurity and talent retention programs and 55% are putting money into research and development, the survey found. 

“Specifically with supply and demand matching, sophisticated forecasting models can be really critical in making adjustments that need to be made in business plans,” stressed Englund. Seventy-four percent of respondents said that they have already seen signs of a recession in their businesses today. 

With companies recently having a strong order backlog and facing supply chain constraints, having an updated forecast model that is nimble or agile is essential, said Englund.