It’s no surprise shifting expectations from employees, who want to use consumer devices and apps in the workplace, are leaving a permanent mark on business processes. As we’ve seen from the respective studies, more businesses recognize that IT holds an important key to success, and IT pros need to be prepared to take on new levels of responsibility within the business strategy.
It's clear the days of IT pro’s limited impact on business are long gone. As Suaad Sait mentioned in last week’s post, the day of the old IT is behind us – bring on the New IT!
On that note, let’s take a closer look at the UK, Australia, and Germany survey key findings. Over the coming month, we’ll see further research from Brazil.
UK SURVEY FINDINGS
The evolution of technology means that IT professionals must adapt their skill-sets and levels of responsibility in order to cope with the demands of emerging and disruptive technologies.
- One in four of those surveyed suggested that BYOx is the emerging technology that is most disruptive to business.
- Mobility, cloud computing, data analytics and compliance round up the top five emerging technologies.
- Over 50 per cent of respondent suggest that cloud/SaaS and information security are the top IT skill-sets that will be in high demand over the next three to five years, followed by mobile apps and device management.
Increased infrastructure complexity also means disruptive technology and new IT skills are required to effectively manage networks and systems.
- More than 50 per cent of IT pro’s view information security and cloud as the top IT skillsets that will grow in demand over the next three to five years.
- BYOx ranked first when survey respondents were asked which emerging technology is the most disruptive to business.
Modern IT professionals are now expected and must be prepared to help their companies make informed, strategic business decisions with regard to emerging technologies.
- 97 per cent of all IT pros are confident that they can provide the guidance and expertise necessary to help their company make informed decisions with regards to emerging technologies
- While 97 percent of survey-takers said they feel at least somewhat confident in their ability to provide such advice, only one-third of those are completely confident in doing so
- To feel more empowered to provide strategic advice, slightly more than half of respondents said they need more training in their area(s) of responsibility, and nearly 40 percent said they need a better understanding of their company’s overall business
Technology’s rise in importance as a core business component may have only been outpaced by the complexity it created. This increasing infrastructure complexity has affected the role of nearly all IT professionals.
- Over half (53%) of all IT departments now manage virtualisation, mobility, compliance, data analytics, SDN/virtual networks, BYOx, cloud computing and self-service automation
- 40 per cent of respondents said increasing complexity has greatly affected their responsibilities over the past three to five years, and an additional 49 per cent said it has somewhat affected their role
You can find the results at the following URL: http://www.slideshare.net/SolarWinds/solar-winds-newitdriversrolesresearchuk120513final/1
AUSTRALIAN SURVEY FINDINGS
IT’s role in strategic business decisions
- Ninety-nine per cent of respondents said they are given the opportunity to provide the guidance and expertise necessary to help their company to make informed, strategic business decisions in this area. But the majority (70 per cent) have the opportunity to do so only occasionally, or rarely.
- Ninety-six per cent said they feel at least somewhat confident in their ability to provide such advice, while 44 per cent said they are completely confident in doing so.
- To feel more empowered to provide such advice, almost half of respondents said they need more training in their area(s) of responsibility. Nearly 44 per cent said they need a better understanding of their company’s overall business.
DEMAND FOR NEW SKILLSETS
- More than 50 per cent of those surveyed said cloud computing and information security top the list of IT skillsets that will grow in demand over the next three to five years. Business analytics followed.
- Respondents said information security is the IT role that will need to adapt the most to evolving technology over the next three to five years.
- Cloud computing ranked as the most important technology for businesses to invest in to remain competitive for the next three to five years. Mobility, data analytics, virtualisation (server or desktop), self-service automation and BYOx followed suit, in that order.
OTHER FINDINGS
- Over half of all IT departments now manage virtualisation, mobility, compliance, cloud computing, BYOx, SDN/virtual networks, data analytics and self-service automation.
- Forty-seven per cent of respondents believe that increasing complexity has affected their responsibilities greatly over the past three to five years, while 42 per cent said it has affected their role somewhat.
Or find the results at the following URL: http://www.slideshare.net/SolarWinds/solar-winds-newitdriversrolesresearchaus121113final
GERMAN SURVEY FINDINGS
IT professionals were asked how the role of IT has changed in Germany over the past five years, and what requirements must they meet to keep pace with technological developments. Their responses show that the IT landscape has undergone major changes in recent years.
- The IT infrastructure of German companies is becoming increasingly complex due to new technologies such as virtualization, mobility and cloud. Accordingly, the role and responsibilities of the IT professionals has also changed and adapted to the technical developments in the past three to five years. This was confirmed by 97 per cent of the respondents.
- Almost half (45 per cent) of those surveyed indicated that they need more training in order to look after their responsibilities adequately. Only one-third (36 per cent) believe that their professional skills are sufficient. A further third said they need a better understanding of business processes.
