As working from home becomes commonplace, more people — especially young, highly educated professionals — are moving from cities to the suburbs.
A recent analysis of U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Census Bureau data (per Bloomberg) reveals that 91% of suburban counties saw more people move in than move out over the past 12 months.
Over the same time frame, 82% of urban centers also saw more people depart than move in.
And it makes sense: The suburbs offer more space for home offices, as well as a lower cost of living compared to cities.
This transition from shared offices to remote work is a big part of America’s digital transformation. And it’s powering an information technology (IT) boom that investors should pay attention to.
Businesses Can’t Ignore Work-From-Home IT
Work-from-home culture is here to stay. In a survey by Pew Research Center, 54% of respondents said they want to work remotely “all or most of the time” after the pandemic is over.
And in a report by IT software firm Flexera, 26% of the businesses surveyed named digital transformation as their No. 1 priority, beating cybersecurity (22%), cloud migration (17%), customer experience (14%) and other key initiatives.
In fact, a survey by 451 Research shows that 4 in 5 respondents plan to increase or maintain spending on work-from-home IT over the next six months.
Some of the top areas of spending include video conferencing, remote work equipment and team collaboration software. But there are a variety of IT initiatives that require managers’ attention, such as content storage and workplace automation tools.
This may be why research firm Gartner expects IT spending for remote work to grow to $332.9 billion this year, a 4.9% increase from 2020.
And if businesses choose to ignore IT spending, they’ll be left behind.
A study by the University of Chicago found that remote work will boost productivity in the U.S. by 5% thanks to IT tools and savings in commuting time.
Invest in the New Era of Digital Transformation
If you’re looking for a smart tech investment, work-from-home IT is a safe bet.
And Ian King recently highlighted a unique IT company in his Strategic Fortunes service.
This firm specializes in cloud services, which more and more businesses are depending on for remote work.
According to Ian, this firm is in a prime spot to capture the lion’s share of growth in this booming tech field.
You can learn more about this company and other tech opportunities by checking out Ian’s Strategic Fortunes service.
Regards,
Assistant Managing Editor, Banyan Hill Publishing