1. Automation in Public Sector IT Systems
A look at how the automation of various information technologies has saved
government organizations time and money and increased IT teams’ productivity
January 2014
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2. Study Overview: areas of discussion
» Is the automation of information technologies in IT
infrastructures a time- and money-saving investment for
public sector IT teams? Does it contribute to an increase
in productivity?
» Which automation tools are considered to be the most
valuable in terms of time and money saved?
» Has the adoption of automation technologies impacted
the size of public sector IT teams?
» Is automation a priority for 2014?
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3. Demographics: breakdown of survey respondents
Type of Organization
32%
Federal government (civillian, DoD, intelligence
community)
34%
State, regional, local, or county government
University or school system
Government contractor, consultant, systems
integrator, or reseller
13%
21%
162 IT practitioners, managers and directors from the U.S. public sector participated in a December
2013 online survey
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4. Demographics: breakdown of survey respondents
Number of Employees
3%
3%
3%
2%
0-9
33%
10%
10-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
10%
250-499
500-999
1,000-1,499
1,500-4,999
13%
14%
5,000 or more
9%
162 IT practitioners, managers and directors from the U.S. public sector participated in a December
2013 online survey
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5. Demographics: breakdown of survey respondents
Role Within Organization
16%
Admin or Sr. Admin
18%
Analyst
Engineer
Project manager
6%
5%
2%
Specialist for IT
Manager
2%
Director
5%
Branch chief, VP, or SVP
27%
8%
Chief officer
(CIO/CTO/CISO/CEO/Owner)
Consultant for IT
Other
8%
3%
162 IT practitioners, managers and directors from the U.S. public sector participated in a December
2013 online survey
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6. Automation Technologies in Use
* % Completed
** % of all respondents indicating “Completed” through “Within 2014 “
At least two-thirds of survey respondents said they are already in the process of implementing a
variety of technologies and 63 percent of respondents are planning an automation project
during 2014.
Q: What automation technologies does your organization currently use and how
far along are you in the implementation of this technology
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7. Most Beneficial Automation Tools
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Network Configuration Management ManagementProvisioning/Config Management
IP Address App/Server (including IPv6)
Help Desk
Storage Management Management and Compliance Reporting ManagementDevice Management
Virtualization Management
Patch
Business Process/Work Automation
Log
Mobile
Of those that have already begun to implement a variety of automation technologies, network configuration
management was determined the most valuable tool in terms of time and money saved by over 58 percent of
respondents, followed by help desk automation (42 percent), IP address management (39 percent), and
application/server provisioning and configuration management (37 percent).
Q: Please rank the automation tools your organization uses in order of overall
benefit (with 1 being the most valuable tool in terms of time/money saved and
10 the least valuable in terms of time/money saved)? Please check N/A for any
tools that you do not use.
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8. Time Saved/Productivity Gained
Productivity Gained
Time Saved
7%
6%
It’s a huge time saver for
our team
9%
Our productivity is
significantly
increased
7%
17%
Our productivity has
increased
moderately
29%
Somewhat – we save time
in some areas but not in
others
20%
Our productivity is
unchanged
It doesn’t – managing the
automation technologies
takes a lot of work
55%
Not applicable – we
haven’t invested in
automation
50%
Our productivity has
decreased due to
challenges with our
automation tools
Not applicable – we
haven’t invested in
automation
More than 84 percent of survey respondents said the automation of information technologies in their IT
infrastructures was a time- and money-saving investment for their teams, and 67 percent of respondents
have seen increases in their teams’ productivity as a result of investments in automation.
Q: To what extent does automation technology save time for you and your
team?
Q: How much has your team’s productivity changed as a result of investments
in automation?
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9. Changes in the IT Team
60.0%
53.2%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
15.1%
13.7%
10.8%
10.1%
6.5%
5.8%
0.0%
We’ve hired more
people
We’ve hired fewer
people
My team size hasn’t We’ve hired people
changed at all
with specific
automation tool
experience
My team is smaller We haven’t made any
because of
recent investments in
investments in
automation
automation
Despite growing adoption of IT automation, 53 percent of respondents said their IT
departments have not hired any new IT pros in the past two years.
Q: In the last two years, how has your IT team changed as a result of
investments in automation? (Check all that apply)
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Other

10. Training on Automation Tools
45.0%
40.0%
40.3%
35.0%
30.0%
28.8%
27.3%
25.0%
24.5%
20.0%
15.0%
13.7%
10.0%
5.0%
2.9%
0.0%
Yes, online training
Yes, in-person training
Yes, we’ve been
learning about it on our
own time
No, no training was
needed
No, but I wish we had
the time/budget for
training
Other
In a time when training budgets are known to be tight the majority of respondents have
received training on automation tools (either in person or online) or felt that no
additional training was needed.
Q: Has your team participated in training on automation tools in the
last year? (check all that apply)
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11. Challenges to Successful Implementation
60.0%
53.6%
50.0%
49.3%
40.0%
30.0%
42.0%
39.9%
34.1%
20.0%
10.0%
8.7%
0.0%
Finding a tool that
supports legacy
systems
Training
Finding budget to pay Integrating new tools Getting management
for the right tool with other automation
support
tools
Other
Nearly 54 percent of respondents said the biggest challenge to the successful rollout of automation
technologies is budgetary restrictions, and others added that integration with existing tools (49 percent) and
lack of training (42 percent) were hindering their automation initiatives.
Q: What are the biggest challenges to the successful roll-out of an
automation tool? (Check all that apply)
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12. Compliance Requirements Driving Automation
40.0%
35.0%
36.9%
35.5%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
14.2%
10.0%
9.9%
5.0%
3.5%
0.0%
We’ve invested significantly in We’ve invested moderately in
tools to automate compliance tools to automate compliance
reporting
reporting
We plan to invest in tools to
automate compliance
reporting
No impact on investments
Other
Almost 60 percent of respondents are factoring compliance reporting requirements into
their decision to invest in automation tools.
Q: To what extent have compliance requirements driven investments in
automation (Such as NIST/FISMA, DISA STIG, HIPPAA, etc.)?
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survey results
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