As manufacturers duck and weave, vast majority are amending IT

That's the top level finding of research commissioned by Microsoft Dynamics, which describes manufacturers as chameleon like. It reveals that, while 20% have undergone a sale, merger or acquisition in the last 12 months and a further 15% expect to do so in the coming year, almost 60% say they are experiencing more change now than a year ago. This is led by product and services development (57%), with change to technology infrastructure (51%) and to business systems and processes (47%) following closely behind. Indeed, Microsoft finds that for 70% of manufacturing companies, the majority of changes will require change to their existing technology infrastructures. "Our research shows that [manufacturing] is far from static… It's clear that smart manufacturers have been addressing both their cost base and seeking new opportunities for sales," says Gary Turner from Microsoft. "One thing is clear: it's better, and cheaper to upgrade your financials and forecasting software to become more efficient and anticipatory, than [to] try to revolutionise the business with an overbearing enterprise solution." Microsoft says that the research, which surveyed 500 UK company directors and managers in February 2009, was commissioned to get a snapshot of how change is affecting all of the UK's industry sectors. A whitepaper based on the research, independent commentary and customer case studies is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/dynamics/change/default.mpsx