The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc in 2020 and continues to harm people, businesses, and economies. Accelerated vaccine deployment, a strong rebound in consumer demand, faster services sector recovery could enable full GDP recovery by mid-2021 (optimistic scenario). Full recovery will be pushed out beyond 2021 in case of multiple fresh outbreaks, lockdown extensions, and delayed vaccine administration (pessimistic scenario). Delivering excellent customer experience became especially tough for specific sectors, specifically, travel and hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and transportation. In the meantime, technology trends took off - everyone is using video conferencing now, and companies are accelerating moving applications to the cloud. This survey found that 80% of CX applications are expected to be in the cloud by 2023. Companies will invest in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence and (AI) technologies sooner than initially predicted to automate processes and improve the customer experience. This study's overall objective is to measure the current use and future decision-making behavior toward information technology (IT) and telecommunications across industries, regions, and business sizes. Industries include insurance and agriculture/food and beverages, banking/finance/insurance, education, energy and utilities, government, healthcare, high tech, manufacturing, retail/wholesale, transportation/storage, travel and hospitality, and professional services. Technologies assessed are the following: enterprise mobility management, digital commerce, communications & collaboration, data centers & cloud infrastructure, digital marketing (omnichannel marketing, marketing automation), customer experience (CX), cybersecurity, enterprise content management (ECM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), internet of things (IoT), AI, digital visualization, blockchain, and big data analytics. IT and safety issues that have emerged from the pandemic prevent some companies from investing in transformative technologies, yet COVID-19 challenges have initiated more companies to accelerate investments than slow them down. This will have a positive impact on the IT sector as a whole. CX is a top priority for IT investments, followed by marketing and sales, which are also customer-related. Companies are investing in CX self-serve, digital marketing, and digital commerce. The study will enable your organization to: Key benefits for CX solution providers and end-user organizations: • Understand the impact of COVID-19 • Identify the IT-related challenges organizations face today • Monitor the status of digital transformation • Assess the current and future use of business communications technologies • Evaluate factors that drive investments in communications technologies • Gauge IT and communications trends • Appraise available IT budgets • Discover opportunities in different regions, verticals, and business size Author: Alpa Shah