It’s safe to say that at the beginning of the year, everyone expected a very different 2020. Then Covid-19 hit. The virus has devastated families, communities and the global economy. Companies in every industry took steps early in the pandemic to protect and support employees, customers and their businesses, while trying to plan for an uncertain future.

In the technology sector, the crisis laid bare overlooked and underestimated weaknesses. It also created new, unexpected growth as people around the world scrambled to replicate their lives in virtual format with the help of technology. But most technology companies haven’t drastically altered their existing plans.

One of the clearest examples: The long-term shift from on-premise to cloud computing continues to be a critical priority, according to a cross-section of IT decision makers Bain & Company has surveyed monthly since March (see Figure 1). When the crisis hit, companies paused many of their IT investments. Early in the pandemic, IT decision makers said they expected decreased spending on software maintenance contracts and on-premise IT to continue at least through 2021. The expected spending reductions have only grown more pronounced as the pandemic has unfolded.