The research stated that 58 percent of the survey companies in the region have increased their IT investment due to the ongoing economic circumstances.

The survey was commissioned by Rackspace Technology and conducted by Coleman Parkes Research in October 2022.

The findings are based on the responses of 1,420 IT decision-makers across manufacturing, retail, hospitality, travel, healthcare, government and financial services sectors in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, said the companies in a statement.

Around 49 percent of the companies said that they are using technology to downsize their staff due to a necessity; stating that roles in the customer service sector are most likely to be automated.

“In times of economic uncertainty, committing increased spend to technology is a risk a majority of companies simply must take in the face of technical skills shortages across the board,” said George Pawlyszyn, General Manager, Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Rackspace Technology in a statement.

The majority of the companies surveyed said that they are looking for technology to drive greater efficiencies; for example, moving infrastructure to the cloud. But also increasing investment on talents, the Middle East companies now investing 1.5 times more money in roles performed by technology than those performed by people.

“It should also be noted that technology itself is very different to technical-proficient staff. A tough labour market and therefore necessity might be driving the growing role tech is playing within companies but finding and retaining capable staff will remain crucial for businesses to thrive,” added Pawlyszyn.

Meanwhile, 72 percent of the surveyed organisations have said that their cloud operations would be a key investment area over the next 12-18 months; considering its an “important tool in improving their operations, they will need to optimize these investments and strategies to feel the true benefit,” said Rackspace Technology.

The technology firm said that the commitment to use technology to fill in the talent gap is driven by growing confidence in return on investment among senior leaders. Three in five organisations said that an established ROI on technology is encouraging further financial commitments.

Companies said that filling in technical vacancies has been challenging and around 59 percent of those who participated in the research said that they are facing issues to retain IT staff.