Mind of the IT Pro 2017

1 | The Mind of the IT Pro Research, 2017 | UBM Tech 2017; All rights reserved
Gain Critical Insights Needed To Engage the Modern IT Pro

UBM’s 2017 The Mind of the IT Pro
Research was developed to gain critical
insight into business technology decision
makers, and delves into:
• The profile of the modern day IT
professional and their organizations
• The collaborative IT purchase
process
• Vendor engagement
• Work habits and more!
METHODOLOGY
• In August 2017, UBM conducted an online survey of business and technology professionals to delve into the profile of IT
professionals in North America
• Final data is based on a total of 285 qualified IT and business respondents
• The margin of error for the total respondent base (N=285) +/- 5.7 percentage points
• UBM was responsible for all programming and data analysis. These procedures were carried out in strict accordance
with standard market research practices.
Research Overview

The IT Professional
EXPERIENCED, EDUCATED AND INFLUENTIAL
Average age:
47
HIGH CAREER ASPIRATIONS
38% aspire toward a C-Level position of CEO, CIO, etc.
17% have already reached their career aspiration
Average salary:
$132,000
Highly educated:
Bachelor’s
degree
or higher
Gender gap:
86% Male
Average
tenure as
an IT pro:
20 years
Average
professional
experience:
25 years

1. Planning and delivering projects
2. Innovation or strategy
3. IT leadership and talent
4. Learning or education
5. Managing vendor relationships
Time Spent Daily (Rank Order)
4.6
average number of
IT projects typically
worked on at any
given time
Average personal purchase involvement:
$2.2 million
47% make technology
decisions for their entire
organization
76% make technology
decisions for multiple
departments or more
The IT Professional
DRIVING BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Average Company Total 2017 IT budget: $245 million
Q. What technologies or solutions has your organization recently purchased or plans to purchase in the next 12 months? Check all that apply.
IT Budgets
SECURITY & CLOUD SERVICES TAKE MAJORITY OF BUDGETS
52% say
their IT budget
will increase in
2018
IT Budget Allocations in 2018
67%
65%
62%
53%
49%
29%
25%
8%
Security
Cloud and cloud services
Networking
Applications software and development
Data and analytics
Enterprise service management
DevOps
Contact center

Technologies or solutions organization recently purchased or plans to purchase in next 12 months
Purchase Plans
52%
45%
43%
42%
36%
32%
31%
30%
29%
29%
29%
27%
27%
24%
23%
22%
19%
18%
18%
17%
15%
9%
Cloud technology & services
Infrastructure
Network security (firewalls, VPN)
Networking
IT training or education
Antivirus/antimalware
Analytics or Big Data
E-mail security/spam filtering
Mobility and wireless
Data analytics
Storage & containers
Applications software and development
Virtualization
Data centers and servers
Application/vulnerability scanning tools
Application management and performance tools
Data encryption/data privacy
Enterprise service management tools
Team collaboration software
Internet of Things
Collaboration, UC or video
AI

Q. When making technology purchase decisions, at what stage(s) do you personally get involved? Check all that apply.
Respondents are highly involved at all stages of the purchase process
The Purchase Process Journey
THE IT PRO’S PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT
73%
EVALUATE /
RECOMMEND
44%
SELECT
31%
APPROVE
Q. Which job function or title would you say is primarily responsible for each stage of a technology purchase (regardless of whether that job title describes you or not)?
68%
DEFINE
REQUIREMENTS
51%
SET VENDOR
SHORT LIST
71%
DETERMINE
THE NEED
EVALUATE /
RECOMMEND
SELECT APPROVE
DEFINE
REQUIREMENTS
SET VENDOR
SHORT LIST
DETERMINE
THE NEED
IT Staff
32%
IT Management
28%
IT Staff
42%
IT Management
32%
IT Management
49%
Executive IT
(CIO, VP of IT)
26%
IT Staff
45%
IT Management
36%
Executive IT
(CIO, VP of IT)
47%
Executive Corporate
Management
29%
IT Staff
42%
IT Management
32%
Collaboration happens throughout the purchase process

Under $1 million 68% 23% 9%
$1 million to $4.9 million 48% 42% 11%
$5 million to $9.9 million 44% 34% 21%
$10 million or more 45% 30% 25%
Q. How many people, including yourself, are typically involved in making technology purchase decisions for your company at each of these investment levels?
Q. Approximately how many people are on the tech purchasing committee?
20+ people5 to 19
people
Fewer than
5 peopleIT investment of…
Collaborative IT Purchasing
47% USE A FORMAL PURCHASING COMMITTEE FOR TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS
8.2 is the average number
of people in a tech purchasing
committee

Content That Makes An Impact
A VARIETY OF CONTENT KEEPS VENDORS TOP OF MIND
1
Expos /
Trade Shows
1 Infographics 1
Expos /
Trade Shows
1 Videos 1 Vendor websites 1 Vendor websites
2 Email newsletters 2 Podcasts 2 Vendor websites 2
Online training /
courses
2
Online training /
courses
2 Research reports
3 Blogs 3 Conferences 3 Social media 3
Vendor
White Papers /
Case Studies
3
Websites on
specific topics
3
Online training /
courses
4 Conferences 4 E-newsletters 4
Websites on
specific topics
4 Blogs 4
Non-Vendor
White Papers /
Case Studies
4
Non-Vendor
White Papers /
Case Studies
5 Podcasts 5 Virtual events 5 Virtual events 5 Virtual events 5 Research reports 5
Websites on
specific topics
Q. At each stage of the technology purchase process, which types of content do you use to get information to help you at that particular stage? Select your top three
content types down each column for each stage.
EVALUATE /
RECOMMEND
SELECT APPROVEDEFINE
REQUIREMENTS
SET VENDOR
SHORT LIST
DETERMINE
THE NEED

Q. For each of these technologies, approximately how long is the purchase process cycle from scoping out the solution to purchase?
Q. How does the length of the purchase cycle differ if you are purchasing from a new tech vendor, vs. a company you already work with or have installed?
Tech Purchase Process Cycle
MOST CYCLES HAPPEN FAST TAKING ONLY 3-6 MONTHS AFTER SCOPING THE SOLUTION
0 - 3 months 3 - 6 months 6 - 12 months One year+
Data & analytics 12% 34% 34% 20%
Cloud & cloud services 11% 38% 29% 23%
Networking 22% 37% 27% 15%
Security 21% 37% 28% 14%
DevOps 11% 34% 25% 30%
Applications software & development 15% 35% 31% 19%
Contact center 15% 27% 27% 31%
Enterprise service management 10% 28% 31% 31%
43%
say the length of the
purchase cycle is
somewhat longer
when purchasing from
a new vendor
15%
say it is
significantly
longer
DevOps, Contact Center and
Enterprise Service Management
purchases typically take longer

83%
61%
58%
57%
50%
49%
40%
36%
34%
32%
29%
29%
25%
22%
20%
Identified a business need
Current solution is not working or is broken
Need to optimize existing processes or improve performance
New security risks
Availability of new technologies
Compliance or regulatory issues
To keep up with customer needs and preferences
Changes in our industry
Incompatibility or high cost of maintaining legacy systems
A growth opportunity or gain access to new markets
Budget cuts or other financial pressures
Increase revenue
Employee demand for new technologies
New management at our organization
New competitive pressures
Q. What kind of internal organizational factors drive the purchase of
technology at your organization? Check all that apply.
Internal Factors Impacting the Buy
BUSINESS NEEDS & BROKEN SOLUTIONS TOP LIST

70%
59%
52%
48%
45%
41%
41%
40%
39%
35%
31%
25%
24%
15%
Company reputation or vendor is a recognized market leader
Can demonstrate how the technology will solve our business problem
Provides clear ROI
Responsiveness to our RFP
Offer of a product trial
Communicates the technical benefits of the solution
We have a pre-existing relationship with the vendor
Vendor has been recommended by my peers
Vendor is endorsed by industry experts
Vendor can financially justify the technology investment
Vendor articulates business benefits
Maintains a high level of visibility
Vendor offers cutting-edge technology
Demonstrates how my existing solution is no longer viable
Getting on the Short List
HOW VENDORS CAN INFLUENCE THE BUY
Q. What actions or other factors from technology vendors influence your consideration or selection of that particular vendor’s tech solution? In other words,
how does a tech vendor get on your short list for consideration? Check all that apply.
Average number of vendors
included in the RFP process4.3

Q. What constitutes a deal breaker when it comes to engaging with vendors in the technology purchase process? Check all that apply.
Deal Breakers
DURING RFP PROCESS – AVOID MAKING THESE MISTAKES
!Vendor is selling, not educating 63%
Vendor doesn’t adequately address risk and
compliance
56%
Vendor doesn’t provide adequate SLAs 51%
Vendor’s reputation has been tainted by a
security breach
45%
Vendor doesn’t provide adequate ROI info 39%

say they are somewhat or very
willing to look at new vendors
84%
Identifying Vendors
DETERMINED EARLY IN THE PURCHASE PROCESS – DON’T MISS THE BOAT
Q. At what stage in the technology purchasing process do you typically begin to identify specific technology vendors?
Q. When putting together a tech vendor short list, how willing are you to look at new vendors, ones that you haven’t worked with before?
19%
27%
10%
13%
13%
14%
4%
At the very beginning, when the consideration of a new investment is first initiated
When we are defining our needs
When we are allocating budgets
When we are defining our business requirements
When we are defining our technical requirements
When we are researching a shortlist of solutions for consideration
When we are researching a shortlist of vendors for consideration

68% say that
one-third or more
of the purchase
process is already
complete before
they engage with a
tech sales rep
Engaging with Vendor Sales Reps
PURCHASE PROCESS WELL UNDERWAY BEFORE CONTACT IS INITIATED
Q. In general, how much (what percentage) of a tech purchase is already complete before you engage with a technology sales rep?
40%
are half way or
more through the
purchase process
before they
engage with a tech
sales rep

Thank you.
To find the right strategies that help you
connect with technology professionals,
contact us at cync@ubm.com.
createyournextcustomer.com

Appendix
Respondents: Primary Job Title
23%
21%
16%
9%
9%
7%
5%
2%
1%
1%
6%
Director/manager of IT
IT or security staff
IT Executive (CIO, CTO, VP of IT)
Software development, engineering
IT architect
Corporate executive (CEO, COO, President, VP)
Consultant (IT)
Line of business
R&D
Consultant (non-IT)
Other

Respondents: Industry
10%
10%
9%
7%
7%
6%
5%
4%
4%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
8%
Government (federal/state/local)
Consulting
Healthcare/pharmaceuticals/biotech/biomedical
Computer/technology manufacturer
Education
Financial services/VC/accounting
Manufacturing and process (other than computer-related)
Construction/architecture/engineering
Business services
Insurance
Computer/technology wholesaler/distributor
Solutions provider/VAR/channel
Wholesale/trade/distribution/retail (non-computer related)
Banking
Media/marketing/advertising
Non-profit/trade association
Communications carrier
Service provider (ASP, DP, FSP, Web hosting)
Transportation/logistics
Travel/hospitality/recreation/entertainment
Other
Appendix

Information Sources
75%
61%
58%
54%
52%
50%
48%
45%
44%
44%
42%
39%
38%
33%
33%
25%
22%
18%
16%
Webinars
Websites on specific topics
White papers or case studies (non-vendor sponsored)
Online articles/feature editorial
Research reports
Vendor websites
Email/electronic newsletters
Independently sponsored expos or trade shows
Virtual events
Online training or courses
White papers or case studies (vendor sponsored)
Tech vendor sponsored expos or trade shows
Blogs
Tech vendor sponsored conferences with focused content
Videos
Independently sponsored conferences with focused content
Social media
Digital radio/podcasts
Infographics
Q. What information sources do you use to stay informed? Check all that apply.
Appendix

Respondents: Company Revenue
$5 billion or
more 14%
$1 billion to
$4.9 billion ,
10%
$500 million to
$999.9 million ,
9%
$100 million to
$499.9 million ,
10%
$50 million to
$99.9 million ,
9%
$6 million to
$49.9 million ,
19%
Less than $6
million , 15%
Government/
non-profit
14%
Appendix

# of employees
Respondents: Company Size
40%
27%
33%
1,000 or more
100-999
Under 100
Appendix

Mind of the IT Pro 2017

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie Mind of the IT Pro 2017

Ähnlich wie Mind of the IT Pro 2017 (20)

Mehr von UBM (Technology)

Mehr von UBM (Technology) (13)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Mind of the IT Pro 2017