What IT challenges do Belgian companies face?

Beltug is the association of CIOs and leaders in digital technology in Belgium. Every two years, it publishes a detailed study with Orange Belgium on the evolution of IT use in Belgian businesses. The study always includes an overview of the hot topics of the moment. Unsurprisingly, cybersecurity is one of the main points of interest. We spotted five strikin results.

1. Businesses are transforming to work more safely and efficiently

Businesses are focusing on their digital transformation to enhance their operational efficiency (81%) and upgrade their cybersecurity (71%). They are replacing old IT systems that are more vulnerable to cyberthreats with new, safer and more reliable infrastructure. Two in three companies that took part in the survey recognise that budget restraints are the biggest impediment to the digitalisation processes.

Although most respondents feel that their model of hybrid working is going smoothly, it nevertheless remains a challenge. What's more, hybrid working is a difficult balancing act: employees want to work at home but they miss their colleagues. A smart IT solution that connects employees at home with their colleagues at the office can make all the difference.

2. Reliable and secure connectivity is essential

A slight majority (56%) of businesses prefer to work with a single provider for fixed and mobile services. They expect better rates, simpler management, easy integration and smoothly scalable services. 41% of enterprises employ SD technology for secure network traffic. Another one in five (22%) are planning to implement such a solution within the next two years.

3. Legislators are imposing stricter requirements on cybersecurity

Businesses are taking their cybersecurity to the next level because the legislative authorities, including the EU, are constantly making higher demands. Examples include the NIS2 directive and the Digital Operational Resilience Act. Legislation is changing so quickly that simply keeping up is often no easy task. Companies are increasingly calling on the services of an external specialist to become — and remain — compliant.

4. Companies are taking charge of their own cloud security 

A striking conclusion in the Beltug study is that businesses are increasingly choosing to secure their cloud operations themselves. A whopping 80% do not simply rely on the cloud service provider, a figure that is higher than expected.

5. The level of cybersecurity protection is increasing but challenges remain

This is the biggest change from the previous study in 2023. Nearly all organisations with more than 200 employees have a plan in place to deal with potential IT security leaks. At the same time, much remains to be done. Every business still faces challenges. Their main concern is data protection (70.5%), followed by identity (62%).

A growing number of companies are aware of the constantly increasing cyberthreats and are implementing better security solutions to protect themselves. Is your business one of them?