The worldwide coronavirus pandemic will cause IT spending to drop this year, voice-controlled smart-home devices to get more popular, small businesses to struggle, and many companies to consider letting remote workers stay remote.

That’s the latest from top IT market watchers. Here’s your tech provider’s roundup.

IT spending will dip

Intel today introduced a new line of processors designed to bring desktop-level performance to gaming and creator laptops.

The new 10th Gen Intel Core H-series line of mobile processors debuts with 6 SKUs. The headliner is the new i9-10980HK, an unlocked processor with 8 cores and 26 threads, 16MB of Intel Smart Cache, and top performance of 5.3 GHz.

Chief information officers expect the already blistering pace of digital transformation to get even faster. They plan to spend big on cloud security. And they anticipate increasing their use of contractors, outsourcers and part-timers.

Over 80% of home-office routers are vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to HP. And with so many people now working from home, that’s a real problem.

HP is doing its part to help. The company recently introduced 4 security solutions to help businesses and their remote workers. Here’s a rundown of what’s new:

HP Pro Security Edition

Your ability to offer remote PC management has never been more important.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many organizations are trying to cut costs. In a recent Gartner survey, 7 in 10 HR pros said their main cost-cutting measure will be to make more effective use of their technology. That’s your cue.

Would you like to save time and money — and earn more — when supporting customers who are remote, and at multiple locations?

If so, you’ll probably like the Intel vPro platform. This technology offers a single pane of glass for managing your remote customers’ PCs and endpoints. You can even reboot a PC remotely.

Last night the U.S. Senate and the Trump administration agreed on a $2 trillion stimulus package to help the country’s economy during the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate is set to vote on the package later today. President Trump has already said he will sign it.

So what’s in the package that could help U.S. tech providers? While the final terms of the package are still unknown, here’s some of what we do know.

Do you need a just-in-time solution for tough mini PCs? If so, Intel is now giving you some new options.

Specifically, Intel has expanded its Intel NUC Rugged product line to include a modular option. This gives ecosystem partners and integrators new and flexible options for this popular mini PC.   

To help fight the coronavirus pandemic, tech companies are doing their part. Here’s some of who’s stepping up:

Intel says it will continue to pay all contractors and employees who have been asked to work from home or self-quarantine, and it will reimburse employees for up to 15 days of care services. Also, the company plans to continue paying all service partners worldwide for at least the next 2 months.

How will the coronavirus pandemic affect the world of tech? That’s the question of the week. And here’s your tech provider’s roundup on the best info from leading market watchers.

What HR pros say

Working from home this week? You’re far from alone. Nearly 9 in 10 organizations have either encouraged or required employees to work from home, finds a survey of HR executives worldwide fielded this past Tuesday.