IT Trends Report 2015: Business at the Speed of IT, Public Sector Results

IT TRENDS REPORT 2O15:
BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF IT
A LO O K AT THE CURRE NT S TATE O F
S I G NI FI CANT NE W TE CHNO LO G Y ADO P TI O N,
BARRI E RS TO ADO P TI O N AND NE E DS O F I T P RO S
TAS KE D WI TH DE LI V E RI NG BUS I NE S S I MP ACT
(NORTH AMERICA, PUBLIC SECTOR)
S URV E Y CO NDUCTE D BY C WHI TE CO NS ULTI NG
DE CE MBE R 2 0 1 4

STUDY OVERVIEW
IT and IT’s ability to successfully adopt significant new technologies is
critical to long-term business success. The new measures of IT
performance are not just availability, reliability and uptime—but also
business productivity, growth and profitability. However, barriers and
challenges, including, for some, business leadership, continue to stall
adoption and therefore business impact.
• Nearly all—92 percent—of respondents indicated that adopting significant new
technologies is at least somewhat important to their organization’s long-term success;
of those, 51 percent said it is important and another 17 percent said it is extremely
important
• By weighted rank, budget limitations placed as the top barrier to adopting those
significant new technologies, followed by a shortage of IT personnel to implement
and/or manage the technology, and the inability to convince decision makers of the
need and/or benefit, respectively
• While 62 percent of survey-takers indicated they view their organizations’ CIO as an
enabler in adopting significant new technologies, more than one-quarter said their
CIO is either a barrier or uninvolved
2
K E Y F I N D I N G S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

STUDY OVERVIEW
Without empowering IT to effectively overcome these barriers,
organizations struggle to achieve expected results from technology
adoption within anticipated timeframes, and to ensure overall business-
critical technology performance.
• More than half of IT professionals surveyed said it took longer than anticipated—25
percent said much longer—for the last significant new technology their organization
adopted to start impacting business and/or end-user efficiency
• Approximately half of the survey-takers said their organizations’ last adoption of a
significant new technology achieved expected return on investment within the
projected timeframe; while approximately one-third said it took longer than
expected—14 percent of those said it took much longer
• Over 90 percent of respondents said their organizations’ end-users were negatively
affected by a performance or availability issue with business-critical technology in the
past 12 months; nearly 30 percent of those reported that such issues occurred six
times or more
3

STUDY OVERVIEW
To better empower IT to overcome these barriers and drive the success
of their businesses through technology adoption, organizations must
first provide IT with more resources, better training and development,
and greater autonomy.
• Nearly 50 percent of survey-takers said more resources, such as budget, personnel
and time, ranked as their number one need to feel more empowered
• More or better training and development (31 percent), greater IT department
autonomy (30 percent), stronger CIO support when liaising with other business
leaders (24 percent, tie), more or better strategic counsel and guidance from the CIO
(24 percent) and more timely CIO approvals (24 percent) rounded out the list of IT’s
top needs by those surveyed
4

STUDY OVERVIEW
5
D E M O G R AP H I C S : S U RV E Y R E S P O N D E N TS
123 IT practitioners, managers and directors in the U.S. and Canada from public-sector organizations
participated in a December 2014 online survey
7%
12%
9%
17%
5%
12%
38%
Organization Size
(number of employees)
50-99 FTEs
100-249 FTEs
250-499 FTEs
500-999 FTEs
1000-1499 FTEs
1500-4999 FTEs
5000+ FTEs
51%
19%
21%
4%
5%
IT Pro’s Role
Practitioner
Manager
Director
IT Consultant
Other IT-related

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
6
I M P O R TAN C E O F AD O P TI N G N E W TE C H N O L O G Y F O R
L O N G - TE R M S U C C E S S
17%
51%
24%
8%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Extremely Important
Important
Somewhat Important
Not Important at All
Do not know
In general, how important is adopting significant new
technologies (those that each require over 10% of the
annual IT budget) to your company’s long-term business
success? [choose only one]
Over two-thirds of all IT pros surveyed indicate that adopting significant new technologies is important or
extremely important to their company’s long-term business success.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
7
TO P B AR R I E R S B AR R I E R S TO I T AD O P TI O N O F
S I G N I F I C AN T N E W TE C H N O L O G I E S
78%
47%
37%
45%
37%
37%
53%
55%
37%
20%
51%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Budget limitations
Convincing bus dec makers of need/benefit
Lack of IT empowerment
Lack of skills needed to implement/manage
Inability to prove ROI
Disruption to bus/end user perf during implementation
Need to continue supporting old, legacy tech
Security/Compliance concerns
Concerns over IT managing hetero/multi-vendor environs
Concerns over IT never having implemented a sig new tech
Shortage of IT personnel to implement/manage
What are your FIVE biggest barriers to IT adoption of
significant new technologies (those that each require
over 10% of the annual IT budget)? [rank 1-5 with 1
“biggest barrier”, also provided “other” write-in option]
Over three-fourths of all IT pros surveyed indicate that budget limitations is one of their top 5 barriers to IT adoption, with
over two-fifths listing budget limitations as their biggest barrier. Over half indicate that security/compliance concerns are
one of their top 5 barriers, followed by the need to continue supporting old, legacy technology. By weighted rank, budget
limitations is also the #1 barrier, followed by (#2) shortage of IT personnel to implement and/or manage the technology
and (#3) convincing decision makers of the need/benefit of IT adoption.
#1 by weighted rank
#3 by weighted rank
#2 by weighted rank
#5 by weighted rank
#7 by weighted rank
#6 by weighted rank
#4 by weighted rank

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
8
E N G AG I N G TH E C I O
46%
47%
33%
18%
9%
20%
4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
During the initial exploratory stage (for strategic guidance)
During the resource planning stage (budget & staff)
Duing the procurement/purchasing phase (for final approval/sign-off)
During the implementation stage
I am NOT required to engage my CIO/equivalent highest ranking IT
executive
I seek my CIO's input throughout the project life of a significant new
technology
Other
Point(s) at Which IT Pro is Required to Engage CIO
At what point(s) in adopting a significant new technology
(one requiring over 10% of the annual IT budget) are you
required to engage your Chief Information Office (CIO)
(or the equivalent highest ranking technology executive
within your company if you do not have a CIO)? [choose
all that apply, also provided “other” write-in option]
Nearly half of all IT pros surveyed are required to engage their CIO in the resource planning stage and the
initial exploratory stage (respectively), and one-third engage during the procurement/purchasing phase.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
9
I T P R O P E R C E P TI O N O F C I O I N V O LV E M E N T
16%
62%
10%
13%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
A barrier
An enabler
Uninvolved
Do not know
IT Pros Perceive their CIO as …
In general, how would you describe your CIO (or the
equivalent highest ranking technology executive within
your company if you do not have a CIO) in regard to
adopting significant new technologies? [choose only one]
Nearly two-thirds of all IT pros surveyed consider their CIO as an enabler to adopting significant new
technologies, and less than one-fifth consider their CIO a barrier.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
10
P R I M ARY R O L E O F C I O
54%
15%
47%
37%
24%
38%
3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Budget approvals
IT training & development
Strategic counsel & guidance
Liaison to the business
IT project management
Involved in all areas of IT
Other
IT Pro Perception of CIO’s Primary Role(s)
What is the primary role of your organization’s Chief
Information Officer (CIO) (or the equivalent highest
ranking technology executive within your company if you
do not have a CIO)? [choose all that apply, also provided
“other” write-in option]
Over half of all IT pros surveyed consider their CIO’s primary role to approve budgets while just under half
consider their CIO’s primary role providing strategic counsel & guidance. Nearly two-fifths consider the CIO’s
primary role is to be involved in all areas of IT while nearly the same percentage consider the CIO’s role
is as a liaison to the business.
#2
#1
#4
#3

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
11
AD D I TI O N A L S U P P O R T N E E D E D F R O M C I O
31%
24%
18%
30%
47%
24%
24%
3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Provide more/better IT training & development
Provide more/better strategic counsel & guidance
Provide more/better IT project management
Allow for more autonomy of the IT department
Provide more/better resources (such as budget/staff/time for project
execution)
Provide more timely approvals
Provide stronger support of IT when liaising with business
Other
IT Pro to CIO: Would You Please …
How could your Chief Information Officer (CIO) (or the
equivalent highest ranking technology executive within
your company if you do not have a CIO) better aid you in
carrying out your IT role/responsibilities? [choose all that
apply, also provided “other” write-in option]
Nearly half of all IT pros surveyed would like their CIO to provide more/better resources (such as
budget/time/staff for project execution) while nearly one-third would like more/better IT training &
development and 30% would like for their CIO to allow for more autonomy of the IT department. One-fourth
(respectively) would like the CIO to provide stronger support of IT when liaising with the business, provide
more/better strategic counsel & guidance, and provide more timely approvals.
#1
#2
#3

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
12
TI M E N E E D E D TO C O M P L E TE E AC H S TAG E AF TE R
AD O P TI O N D E C I S I O N H AS B E E N M AD E ( W E I G H T E D R A N K A V E R A G E )
2.88
2.75
2.76
3.72
4.44
4.46
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Research
Budget acquisition
Deployment/implementation
Testing
IT training
End user training
Once the decision has been made to adopt a significant
new technology (one requiring over 10% of the annual
IT budget), which of the following stages typically takes
the longest to complete? [rank 1-6 with 1 “longest”]
Overall, IT pros surveyed indicate that the budget acquisition stage takes the longest to complete (by overall weighted rank
average), with nearly one-third ranking it as their longest stage of the six stages. The deployment/implementation stage
and then research stage follow as the next longest stages. The shortest stage based on length of time needed to complete
is end user training.
#1 LONGEST Stage by weighted rank
#2 by weighted rank
#3 by weighted rank
#4 by weighted rank
#5 by weighted rank
(Longest stage) (Shortest stage)
#6 SHORTEST Stage
by weighted rank

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
13
M O V I N G F R O M AD O P TI O N TO I M P R O V E D E F F I C I E N C Y
7%
10%
25%
31%
25%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Much shorter length of time than planned/expected
Slightly shorter length of time than planned/expected
About the amount of time planned/expected
Slightly longer length of time than planned/expected
Much longer length of time than planned/expected
Do not know
Length of Time Needed for Last Significant New Technology to Move from Adoption to Efficiency
Please think about the last significant new technology your
organization adopted: how long did it take to move from
adoption to improved business/employee efficiency?
[choose only one]
Nearly one-third of all IT pros surveyed indicate it took slightly longer than planned/expected to move the last
significant new technology their organization adopted from adoption to improved business/employee efficiency.
One-fourth indicate it took about the amount of time planned/expected, while another one-fourth say it took
much longer than anticipated.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
14
AC H I E V I N G E X P E C TE D R E TU R N O N I N V E S TM E N T ( R O I )
3%
11%
37%
20%
14%
15%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Much shorter length of time than planned/expected
Slightly shorter length of time than planned/expected
About the amount of time planned/expected
Slightly longer length of time than planned/expected
Much longer length of time than planned/expected
Do not know
Length of Time Needed for Last Significant New Technology to Achieve Expected ROI
Please think about the last significant new technology your
organization adopted: how long did it take to achieve
expected return on investment (ROI)? [choose only one]
Over one-third of all IT pros surveyed indicate it took about the amount of time planned/expected to achieve
expected ROI from the last significant new technology their organization adopted. Another one-third indicate it
took longer (slightly longer and much longer combined) than anticipated, while 14% said it took a shorter
length of time (slightly shorter and much shorter combined) than anticipated.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
15
D I S R U P TI O N TO U S E R S D U R I N G I M P L E M E N TAT I O N
7%
37%
46%
7%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Not affected at all
Minimally affected (no complaints, little/no performance issues)
Affected (received complaints, some performance issues)
Greatly affected (substantial performance issues)
Do not know
Amount Business/End Users Were Affected While Implementing Last Significant New Technology
Please think about the last significant new technology
your organization adopted: how much were
business/end users affected during the implementation
process? [choose only one]
Nine-tenths of all IT pros surveyed indicate business/end users were affected (minimally affected, affected and
greatly affected combined) from the last significant new technology their organization adopted, however, less
than one-tenth were greatly affected.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
16
I T I N F R AS T R U C T U R E M I G R ATE D TO TH E C L O U D
What is your best estimate of the percentage of your IT
infrastructure that has been migrated to the cloud
(public, private or hybrid)? [choose only one]
Nearly three-fifths of all IT pros surveyed have migrated less than 25% of their IT infrastructure to the cloud
while 13% have not migrated anything to the cloud and 16% have migrated half or more of their IT
infrastructure to the cloud.
13%
26%
31%
11%
13%
3%
0%
3%
% of IT Infrastructure Migrated to Cloud
0% migrated
1-9% migrated
10-24% migrated
25-49% migrated
50-74% migrated
75-99% migrated
100% migrated
Do not know

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
17
AR E A S O F I T I N F R AS TR U C TU R E AL R E A D Y M I G R ATE D
TO TH E C L O U D
29%
31%
11%
47%
45%
16%
4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Database
Software
Security (Testing aaS)
Applications
Storage
No areas have been migrated to the cloud
Other
Which area(s) of your IT infrastructure have been
migrated to the cloud (public or private)? [choose all that
apply, also provided “other” write-in option]
Almost half of IT pros surveyed indicate applications have been migrated to the cloud while 45% have already
migrated Storage and nearly one-third have migrated Software and Databases (respectively).

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
18
I S S U E S AF F E C TI N G TH E U S E O F B U S I N E S S - C R I TI C A L TE C H
How many times in the past twelve months has your
organization experienced a performance and/or
availability issue that affected the end user’s ability to
use a business-critical technology in performing his/her
role/responsibilities? [choose only one]
Over three-fifths of all IT pros surveyed indicate that 1-5 times in the past 12 months performance and/or
availability issues have affected the end user’s ability to use business-critical technology while another 15% say
that has happened 6-10 times, and 14% say that has happened 11 or more times.
6%
62%
15%
6%
8%
4%
No. of times in past 12 months
that performance and/or availability issues have
affected end user’s ability
to use business-critical technology
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
19
I M PAC T O F R E S O LV I N G B I G G E S T P E R F O R M AN C E I S S U E
35%
15%
18%
13%
18%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Network traffic
Application data
Database performance
Hosted environments
SaaS apps that integrate with your business
Other
Performance Issue That If resolved Would Produce Greatest Overall Benefit to IT, Business & End
Users
If you had the ability to instantaneously resolve current
performance issues, in which ONE area (over all others)
would solving performance issues result in the greatest
overall benefits for IT, the business, and end users?
[choose only one, also provided “other” write-in option]
Over one-third of IT pros surveyed indicate that resolving network traffic performance issues would result in the
greatest overall benefits for IT, the business, and end users while nearly one-fifth (respectively) indicate that
either resolving database performance or resolving SaaS apps that integrate with the business
would result in the greatest benefits.

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