Vision Critical has conducted this research to assess how medium and large Canadian businesses would benefit if they adopted a cloud-based, virtually managed network service. In order to understand this issue, the current study aims to evaluate the extent to which these businesses can save time, money and resources by upgrading their old, legacy network technology with cloud-based, virtually managed network solutions.

1. Canadian Business Leaders Survey
September 2015

2. 2
Background
Vision Critical is conducting this research to assess how medium and large Canadian businesses would benefit if they adopted a cloud-
based, virtually managed network service. In order to understand this issue, the current study aims to evaluate the extent to which
these businesses can save time, money and resources by upgrading their old, legacy network technology with cloud-based, virtually
managed network solutions.
In addition, the perceptions of Canadian Business Leaders and IT Leaders will be compared on specific issues such as:
 The extent to which they are struggling to manage their networks given the explosion of mobile device and data usage.
 Spending time keeping the lights on vs. innovating in their business.
 Enabling a mobile workforce (i.e. enabling a workplace that allows employees to work wherever and whenever they want).
 Keeping up with the rapid changes in their workplace.
 Able to attract and retain customers and enrich the customer experience with technology.
 Able to minimize security risks and protect their data and information.
 Able to benefit from cloud technology.

3. 3
Methodology
Overview:
From September 2nd to September 14th, 2015, Vision Critical conducted an online survey. Participants were recruited
through the Angus Reid Forum – Vision Critical’s proprietary online access panel which includes more than 3,000
Business Leaders and the Aeroplan Advisors online B2B community.
Sample Size:
The national sample size was 531 respondents, consisting of 370 Business Leaders and 161 IT Leaders. The final data
was unweighted.
Qualifying Criteria: All participants were Business or IT Leaders in medium (20-499 employees) or large (500+ employees) companies.
Definitions
Business Leader: Business Owners, Business Management (at board level), or Senior Management / Executive /
Director (not at board level) whose primary role is in an area outside of business technology and/or IT.
IT Leader: Respondents whose primary role is in business technology and/or IT.

4. 4
Executive Summary
Business Leaders are acutely aware of the fact that managing networks and business technology is a time consuming and costly
endeavor – and many feel that, when it comes to IT, they are spending more time “keeping the lights on” than they are thinking about
the strategic direction of the business.
IT Leaders and Business Leaders alike would like to see more of their IT team’s time and money spent on strategy and innovation as
opposed to operations activities. In particular, time spent managing outdated technologies is perceived to cost businesses an average of
more than 200 hours per week in wasted hours.
Overall, Business Leaders and IT Leaders alike recognize that while IT as a business unit currently delivers on many “core” functional
areas, such as security, help desk support and implementation and maintenance of technology, it is currently under-delivering on key
strategic functions that drive overall performance ratings.
Even when it comes to core functional areas such as security, Business Leaders recognize that there are gaps. Many believe that the
complexity of their networks raises some concerns about security and more than one-in-four claim to have experienced at least one
security breach in the past year.
The ability to minimize security risks to protect data and information is currently what is most impactful in terms of driving satisfaction
with IT network security. To this point, most Business Leaders agree that simplifying networks to make them easier to manage would be
a significant benefit to the business.

5. Perspectives On IT –
Business Leaders vs. IT Leaders

6. 6
Key Attitudes Towards Status Quo in IT
Business Leaders and IT Leaders alike express significant concerns about the proportion of IT resources spent on network management
and keeping up with increasing data and mobility demands. These concerns grow along with business size among Business Leaders at
companies of more than 100 employees – and especially among those at companies of 500+ employees.
BASE: All Respondents
[Q_Attitudes_New] To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 3-5% of responses)
“When it comes to
IT, we are spending
more time keeping
the lights on than
thinking about
strategic direction
of the business.”
76%
of Business Leaders
(and 77% of IT Leaders) agree
“A lot of our IT
resources are spent
keeping our
networks and
technology up and
running.”
74%
of Business Leaders
(and 74% of IT Leaders) agree
“Network
management is
expensive and time-
consuming.”
73%
of Business Leaders
(and 78% of IT Leaders) agree
“It's becoming difficult
to manage networks
that connect our
business, employees
and customers given
the explosion of
mobile devices and
data usage.”
67%
of Business Leaders
(and 63% of IT Leaders) agree
BASE: Business Leaders (n=370);
IT Leaders (n=161)
BASE: Business Leaders (n=343);
IT Leaders (n=159)
BASE: Business Leaders (n=332);
IT Leaders (n=156)
BASE: Business Leaders (n=338);
IT Leaders (n=158)

7. 7
Ideally, more
effort would be
spent on
innovation and
strategic
planning
Current vs. Ideal Allocation of IT Effort According to Business Leaders
Right now, it is a common perception among Business Leaders that much of their IT team’s effort is spent building, maintaining and
managing networks and technology and very little is spent delivering value to the business through innovation and strategic planning
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=370)
[Q_Time_Current] CURRENTLY, what proportion of your company’s IT effort (i.e., time and staffing resources as opposed to budget) would you say is spent on each of the following
functions in a typical week?
[Q_Time_Ideal] IDEALLY, what proportion of your company’s IT effort (i.e., time and staffing resources as opposed to budget) would be spent on each of the following functions in a
typical week?
27
21
30
26
19
18
24
35
Delivering value to the business through innovation
and strategic planning
Building/maintaining network redundancies for data
storage and recovery
Updating/maintaining/managing networks, security
protocols and systems
Setting up/updating/managing devices/technology
+11
-1
-4
-6
CURRENT IDEAL.VS.
Net Difference
(Ideal - Current)

8. 8
Current vs. Ideal Allocation of IT Effort According to IT Leaders
Similarly, IT Leaders recognize that ideally they would be spending more time on strategic initiatives.
BASE: All Respondents – IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Time_Current] CURRENTLY, what proportion of your company’s IT effort (i.e., time and staffing resources as opposed to budget) would you say is spent on each of the following
functions in a typical week?
[Q_Time_Ideal] IDEALLY, what proportion of your company’s IT effort (i.e., time and staffing resources as opposed to budget) would be spent on each of the following functions in a
typical week?
25 22
28
23
20
20
28
36
Delivering value to the business through innovation
and strategic planning
Building/maintaining network redundancies for data
storage and recovery
Updating/maintaining/managing networks, security
protocols and systems
Setting up/updating/managing devices/technology
+8
=
-5
-3
CURRENT IDEAL.VS.
Net Difference
(Ideal– Current)
Ideally, more
effort would be
spent on
innovation and
strategic
planning

9. 9
Current vs. Ideal IT Budget Allocation – Business vs. IT Leaders
From a budget point of view, Business Leaders and IT Leaders estimate that approximately one-third of their company’s IT budgets are
spent on strategic activities, whereas they would like to see that closer to half.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=370), IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Budget_Current] CURRENTLY, what proportion of your company’s IT budget would you say is spent on each of the following functions?
[Q_Budget_Ideal] IDEALLY, what proportion of your company’s IT budget would be spent on each of the following functions?
72
54
28
46
Strategic activities such as
planning and innovation
Operational activities such
as managing and
maintaining existing
business technologies
BUSINESS LEADERS
63
51
37
49
CURRENT IDEALVS. CURRENT IDEALVS.
IT LEADERS
PROPORTION OF IT BUDGET SPENT PROPORTION OF IT BUDGET SPENT

10. 10
Estimated Hours Per Week Wasted Managing Outdated Networks/Systems
Three-in-four agree that a lot of time is wasted managing legacy networks. According to IT Leaders, an average of nearly 170 hours per
week is wasted managing outdated network technology and systems. The perception of Business Leaders is that it is even higher,
estimating it to be over 200 hrs/wk on average and upwards of 450+ hrs/wk at Canada’s largest companies of 500 or more employees.
214
168
Average Hours/Week Wasted
BASE = Agree with statement “A lot of time and money is wasted managing old, legacy
network technology/systems” – Business Leaders (n=249); IT Leaders (n=124)
[Q_Attitudes] Approximately how many hours per week – in total across all of your
employees – would you say are wasted managing these outdated networks and systems?
“A lot of time and
money is wasted
managing old,
legacy network
technology/
systems.”
73%
of Business Leaders
(and 79% of IT Leaders) agree
BASE = All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=339); IT Leaders
(n=157)
[Q_Attitudes_New] To what extent do you agree or disagree with
the following statements?

11. 11
Proportion of IT Time Spent on Various Areas
Both Business Leaders and IT estimate that the majority of their IT team’s time is spent on the support, management and monitoring of
IT systems, leaving a small proportion of their time spent on innovation and improving processes.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=245), IT Leaders (N=161)
Q.IT_Role. [Mean Summary] Thinking of a typical week, approximately what proportion of your IT team’s time is spent on each of the following areas?
26
18
32
39
17
14
26
28
IT Leaders
Business Leaders
Working with business units to help them be innovative and improve processes
Supporting staff/employees with their IT needs
Supporting those from the outside who utilize or rely on your IT systems and networks
Monitoring and managing systems and communications
81%
74%
% Time Spent Supporting, Managing
and Monitoring IT Systems

12. 12
Monitoring/updating/maintaining networks that support
business to minimize down-time
Providing world-class security for the business' IT / network
systems
Helping improve business processes to create greater
efficiencies and productivity
Supporting the business by providing and setting up new
devices / technology (e.g. Computers etc.)
Providing help desk support to business users when things
go wrong or change
Helping the business create stronger engagement with
customers to improve experiences
Enabling mobility to help the workforce work wherever
they want/be more productive
Providing strategic direction by planning for the future
technology needs of the business
Driving value by introducing technology/processes to ensure
competitive market leadership
Collecting intelligence from customers to enhance loyalty
programs and custom applications
Importance of Selected IT Functions
IT Leaders and Business Leaders are generally in agreement when it comes to the importance of various IT functions. Most agree that
maintaining and securing networks and improving business processes are fundamental to IT.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=348), IT Leaders (n=161)
Q_IT_Importance. Thinking about the role of IT in the future success and growth of your business, how important are each of the following elements for your IT team to focus on?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 5-12% of responses)
72%
67%
66%
62%
62%
59%
59%
57%
56%
42%
69%
63%
69%
59%
58%
58%
58%
57%
54%
44%
Business Leaders
IT Leaders
% Important (8-10 on a 10 point scale)

13. 13
IT Team’s Performance
Monitoring, updating and maintaining the networks that
support the business to minimize down-time
Providing world-class security for the business' IT and
network systems
Providing help desk support to business users when things
go wrong or change
Providing and setting up new devices and technology, such
as computers, mobile phones and pagers
Enabling mobility in the business to help the workforce work
wherever they want and be more productive
Providing strategic direction by planning for the future
technology needs of the business
Helping the business create stronger engagement with
customers and improve customer experiences
Helping improve business processes to create greater
efficiencies and productivity
Driving value by introducing technology and processes to
ensure competitive differentiation/market leadership
Collecting intelligence from customers to enhance our
loyalty programs and custom applications
50%
49%
49%
45%
38%
33%
30%
29%
29%
27%
56%
56%
53%
53%
43%
51%
45%
47%
45%
38%
Business Leaders
IT Leaders
% Rated Performance as 8-10 (on a 10 point scale)
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=348), IT Leaders (n=161)
Q_IT_Performance. And how would you rate your IT team’s performance on each of these measures?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 6-20% of responses)
When it comes to their IT team’s performance, however, there is less agreement between IT Leaders and Business Leaders – especially
when it comes to strategic planning, and driving value for the business. While IT Leaders perceive stronger performance on the strategic
direction of the IT team (50%+ rated it high) , only 1 in 3 Business Leaders give it the same performance rating.

14. 14
Relative Importance of Key IT Functions
Through a Shapely Value Regression analysis where all of these IT functions are considered together, it is clear that strategic functions
such as improving business processes, providing strategic direction and driving value for the business by introducing technology and
processes to ensure competitive differentiation/market leadership are relatively more important compared to tactical functions when it
comes to evaluating IT’s performance.
14%
14%
11%
11%
10%
10%
8%
8%
7%
6%
12%
15%
13%
15%
6%
7%
7%
9%
8%
8%
Helping improve business processes to create greater efficiencies and
productivity
Providing strategic direction by planning for the future technology
needs of the business
Driving value for the business by introducing technology and
processes to ensure competitive differentiation/market leadership
Monitoring, updating and maintaining the networks that support the
business to minimize down-time
Providing help desk support to business users when things go wrong
or change
Enabling mobility in the business to help the workforce to be more
productive
Helping the business create stronger engagement with customers
and improve customer experiences
Providing world-class security for the business' IT and network
systems
Supporting the business by providing and setting up new devices and
technology, such as computers, mobile phones and pagers
Developing intelligence from customers to enhance our loyalty
programs and custom applications
Business Leaders
IT Leaders
Q_PERFORMANCE_OVERALL. And overall how would you rate your current IT systems, processes and strategy?
Q.IT_Performance. And how would you rate your IT team’s performance on each of these measures?
RelativeImportance
R2 = 71% IT
Leaders
75% Business
Leaders

15. 15
Drivers of IT Performance Ratings: Business Leaders vs. IT Leaders
More strategic tasks such as improving business processes and driving value are currently seen as areas for improvement for IT among
Business Leaders and IT Leaders alike – although providing strategic direction is perceived to be more of a core strength among IT
Leaders. Developing customer intelligence and engagement is not currently perceived to be a core IT function by either side, while
providing world-class security and providing/setting up new technology is considered to be “table stakes”.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=348), IT Leaders (n=161)
Q_PERFORMANCE_OVERALL. And overall how would you rate your current IT systems, processes and strategy?
Q.IT_Performance. And how would you rate your IT team’s performance on each of these measures?
RelativeImportance
Performance Rating
Higher Performance
Higher Importance
Lower Performance
Higher Importance
Improve business
processes
Providing strategic
direction
Driving value for the
business
Monitoring, updating
and maintaining
networks
Providing help desk
support
Enabling mobilityStronger engagement
with customers Providing world class
security
Providing and setting up
new technology
Developing intelligence
Lower Performance
Lower Importance
Higher Performance
Lower Importance
R2 = 71% IT
Leaders
75% Business
Leaders

16. 16
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=348), IT Leaders (n=161)
Q_SATISFACTION_SECURITY. How satisfied are you with the security of your IT networks?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 4% of responses)
Overall Satisfaction with IT Security
While overall, there is a high level of satisfaction with IT Security, Business Leaders are somewhat less satisfied than IT Leaders.
5%
11%
51%
48%
44%
40%
IT Leaders
Business Leaders
Not at all satisfied Not very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied
88%
95%
% “Satisfied”

17. 17
Security Breach Incidents
More than one-in-four Business Leaders and IT Leaders report that they have experienced at least one security breach at their company
in the past year, Almost as many more say that they’d prefer to not reveal the number of security breaches they’ve experienced.
57%26%
16%
# Security Breaches in past year
49%
29%
22%
Business Leaders IT Leaders“The complexity of
the company's
networks raises
some concerns
about security.”
64%
of Business Leaders
(and 70% of IT Leaders) agree
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=370), IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Attitudes_New] To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
[Q_SECURITY_BREACH] To the best of your knowledge, approximately how many, if any, security breaches has your company experienced during the past year?

18. 18
Satisfaction with IT Security Elements
Both Business and IT Leaders are most satisfied with their IT network’s ability to minimize security risks. IT Leaders are more likely to be
satisfied with all aspects of IT network security. However, Business Leaders see room for improvement when it comes to being more
proactive, collaborative and timely.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=370), IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Satisfaction_Security_Elements] How satisfied would you say you are with each of the following elements of your IT network security?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 6-8% of responses)
Minimize security risks to protect your data and information
Easily manage user profiles, applications and settings
Proactively manage your networks and IT systems to avoid
technical problems before they occur
Enable collaboration - specifically with teams and individuals
not at the same location
Rapidly deploy new services and functions where and when
needed
50%
41%
39%
35%
28%
55%
53%
47%
52%
37%
Business Leaders
IT Leaders
% Satisfied with Network Elements (Top 3 Box)

19. 19
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=348), IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Satisfaction_Security_Elements] How satisfied would you say you are with each of the following elements of your IT network security?
Q_SATISFACTION_SECURITY. How satisfied are you with the security of your IT networks?
Drivers of Security Satisfaction: Business vs. IT Leaders
The ability to minimize security risks is, by far, considered to be the most important aspect of network security. Proactive management
of networks and IT systems and ease of managing users are considered important, but not critical, while collaboration and rapid
deployment of new services are not currently driving satisfaction with IT networks.
RelativeImportance
Satisfaction with IT Security Elements
Higher Satisfaction
Higher Importance
Lower Satisfaction
Higher Importance
Ability to minimize
security risks to protect
your data and
information
Ability to proactively
manage your networks
and IT systems to avoid
technical problems
before they occur
Ability to easily manage
user profiles,
applications and settings
Ability to enable
collaboration -
specifically with teams
and individuals not at
the same location
Ability to rapidly deploy
new services and
functions where and
when needed
Lower Satisfaction
Lower Importance
Higher Satisfaction
Lower Importance
R2 = 38% IT
Leaders
51% Business
Leaders

20. 20
Common Perceptions – Business Leaders vs. IT Leaders
Business and IT Leaders are in agreement that simplifying networks would be a significant benefit to their business and that they
struggle to keep up with changes in technology. They also agree that cloud-based management of network systems is the direction that
many businesses are going.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=370); IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Attitudes_New] To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 5-14% of responses)
Simplifying networks to make them easier to manage would be a
significant benefit to the business.
Cloud-based management of network systems is the direction that
many businesses are going.
We struggle to keep up with the rapid changes in technology that
impact our business.
87%
79%
65%
84%
82%
66%
Business Leaders
IT Leaders
% Agree (Somewhat or Strongly)

21. 21
Divergent Perceptions – Business Leaders vs. IT Leaders
There is more disagreement between IT Leaders and Business Leaders when it comes to believing that they companies make effective
use of applications, use technician’s time wisely and make use of the most up-to-date technology when it comes to customer retention
and acquisition.
BASE: All Respondents – Business Leaders (n=370); IT Leaders (n=161)
[Q_Attitudes_New] To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
NOTE: Excludes “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” (approx. 5-8% of responses)
67%
61%
53%
75%
75%
74%
Business Leaders
IT Leaders
% Agree (Somewhat or Strongly)
Sending technicians to business branches/offices to maintain networks
is not a good use of their time.
We make effective use of applications/technology designed to enrich
our customers' experience with the business.
We use the most up-to-date technology to facilitate acquisition and
retention of customers.