SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, announced the findings of its Little-Known Facts survey September 12, 2017. The results reveal that IT professionals in Germany tend to go above and beyond the scope of their core responsibilities as the changing business landscape demands more of their attention, both inside and outside of the office. The survey supports IT Professionals Day, which is observed the third Tuesday of every September (September 19, 2017), to emphasize the need for greater appreciation for IT professionals and the critical role they play in modern business and the lives of nearly all technology end-users.

1. IT PRO SURVEY: GERMANY
BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW … LITTLE-KNOWN IT FACTS IN
CELEBRATION OF IT PRO DAY
CONDUCTED BY C WHITE CONSULTING
JULY 2017

2. STUDY OVERVIEW: AREAS OF DISCUSSION
• What data helps demonstrate just why we should all appreciate our IT professionals and celebrate
them not only on IT Pro Day but all year long?
© 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

3. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
STUDY OVERVIEW: RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
2% 3%
14%
6%
13%
5%
18%
38%
Company Size
(number of employees)
25-49 FTEs
50-99 FTEs
100-249 FTEs
250-499 FTEs
500-999 FTEs
1000-1499 FTEs
1500-4999 FTEs
5000+ FTEs
37%
24%
17%
10%
12%
IT Pro’s Role
Practitioner
Manager
Director
IT Consultant
Other IT-related
94 IT practitioners, managers and directors in Germany from public- and private-sector small,
mid-size and enterprise companies participated in a July 2017 online survey

4. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
8%
12%
54%
28%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Installing/servicing/fixing NON-IT related office equipment (such as
break room/office appliances, office furniture, televisions, HVAC
systems, paper shredders, smoke alarms, clocks, light bulbs, etc.)
Educating business leaders & end users about IT/technology
Managing IT and IT-related services (tasks central to your IT pro job
description)
Other activities not included above
Where Do IT Pros Spend Their Time?
IT pros surveyed go above and beyond when it comes to serving their companies, spending 8% of their time fixing office equipment that is NOT
related to IT, 12% of their time educating business leaders & end users about IT/technology, and 54% of their time focusing on their core IT pro
role/responsibilities (managing IT & IT-related services).
Within any given month, what percentage of your time
(on average) is spent in each of the following areas?
[text boxes – enter number so that all 4 areas equal 100]

5. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
2%
14%
20%
16%12%
7%
6%
6%
4%
3%
1%
7%
0%
1-9%
10-19%
20-29%
30-39%
40-49%
50-59%
60-69%
70-79%
80-89%
90% or more
Not sure
How Often Do End Users Who Try To Resolve Their Own IT-related Problems Ultimately Make Things Worse?
Nearly all IT pros surveyed agree that a percentage of end users who try to resolve their own IT-related problems before calling IT ultimately make things
worse. One-fifth of IT pros say that more than half the time, end users who try to resolve their own IT-related problems before calling IT ultimately make
things worse. Over one-third of IT pros say that between 20-49% of the time, end users who try to resolve their own IT-related problems (instead of calling IT
first) tend to make things worse. And another one-third of IT pros say those same end users make things worse less than 20% of the time.
How often (on average) do end users who try to resolve
their own IT-related problems ultimately make things
worse? [choose one]

6. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
36%
32%
24%
35%
50%
31%
19%
5%
45%
21%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Interns/junior-level staff (regardless of department/area)
Information Technology (IT)
Human Resources (HR)
Finance/Accounting/Procurement
Sales/Business Development
Marketing (Corporate & Product)
Communications & Public Relations (PR)
Legal
Senior executives/chief officers (regardless of area)
Other
Which Personnel Create the Most IT Issues that Require an IT Pro to Resolve?
36%
32%
24%
35%
50%
31%
19%
5%
45%
21%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Interns/junior-level staff (regardless of department/area)
Information Technology (IT)
Human Resources (HR)
Finance/Accounting/Procurement
Sales/Business Development
Marketing (Corporate & Product)
Communications & Public Relations (PR)
Legal
Senior executives/chief officers (regardless of area)
Other
Which Personnel Create the Most IT Issues that Require an IT Pro to Resolve?
#2 by weighted rank
#4 by weighted rank
#1 by weighted rank
#5 by weighted rank
#6 by weighted rank
#3 by weighted rank
Half of all IT pros surveyed indicate that sales/business development personnel are one of their top 3 personnel who create the most IT/technology issues that
require an IT pro to resolve, and 19% of IT pros list sales/business development personnel as their top-ranked (#1) personnel in that area. By weighted rank,
sales/business development personnel are also the top-ranked personnel, followed by #2 senior executives/chief officers (regardless of area) and #3
interns/junior-level staff (regardless of department/area).
Which of the following personnel create the most IT/technology issues
that require an IT pro to resolve? [choose only 3 in prioritised order]

7. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
65%
35% My friends/family/loved
ones
My IT monitoring system
(ie system alerts)
From Whom Do IT Pros Receive More Text/SMS/MMS Messages?
In any given week, over one-third of IT pros surveyed spend more time communicating with their IT monitoring systems than their loved ones, as 35% say
they receive even more texts from their IT monitoring systems (for example, system alerts) each week than they do from their friends/family/loved ones.
During a typical week, from whom do you receive more
text/SMS/MMS messages? [choose one]

8. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
83%
26%
5%
27%
40%
64%
34%
18%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
A security breach
Artificial intelligence (AI), bots &/or virtual assistants replacing elements
of my job
End users' increasing knowledge of IT making my job obsolete
My organisation becoming obsolete
End users who try to resolve their own IT-related problems ultimately
making IT issues worse
IT budget/personnel cuts
The cloud
Other
Which IT/Technology-related Issues/Trends Concern IT Pros the Most?
#1 by weighted rank
#2 by weighted rank
#3 by weighted rank
#4 by weighted rank
#5 by weighted rank
#6 by weighted rank
83% of IT pros surveyed indicate that a security breach is one of the top 3 IT/technology-related issues/trends that concern them the most, with 59%
ranking a security breach as their #1 concern. By weighted rank, a security breach also ranks as IT pros’ #1 concern, followed by #2 IT budget/personnel
cuts and #3 end users who try to resolve their own IT-related problems ultimately making IT issues worse. Only 5% of IT pros are concerned with end users’
increasing knowledge of IT making their jobs obsolete.
Which of the following IT/technology-related issues/trends concern you
the most? [choose only 3 in prioritised order]

9. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
3%
13%
22%
20%
15%
7%
10%
10%
How Many Overtime Hours are Worked by IT
Pros Each Month?
0 (no overtime hours)
1-4 overtime hours
5-9 overtime hours
10-14 overtime hours
15-19 overtime hours
20-24 overtime hours
25-29 overtime hours
30+ overtime hours
11%
41%
48%
Compensation for Overtime Hours
Yes, MONETARY compensation
Yes, something OTHER THAN MONETARY compensation (ie comp time)
No, NO COMPENSATION (monetary or otherwise) for working overtime
Nearly all IT pros surveyed work overtime hours (defined as any hours worked outside of a typical 8-hour week day such as after-hours on week days
and/or any time worked on weekends). And 48% do so with no compensation for working overtime. Over three-fifths of IT pros work at least 10
overtime hours per month, and 1 in 4 IT pros work 20 or more overtime hours per month. Of the 52% who do receive compensation for working
overtime, the vast majority receive something other than monetary compensation (such as comp time).
NOTE: For the purposes of this question, “overtime” is defined as any
hours worked outside of a typical 8-hour week day (ie after-hours on
week days &/or any time worked on weekends would be considered
“overtime” hours). Within any given month, how many overtime hours
(on average) do you work? [please choose only one]
NOTE: For the purposes of this question, “overtime” is defined as any
hours worked outside of a typical 8-hour week day (ie after-hours on
week days &/or any time worked on weekends would be considered
“overtime” hours). Are you compensated for working overtime?
[please choose only one]

10. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
54%
24%
54%
85%
46%
0%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
iOS
Mac OS X
Android
Windows
Linux/Ubuntu
Fire OS
Other
Which Operating System(s) Do IT Pros Prefer
to Use?
20%
13%
39%
2%
50%
12%
23%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Snapchat
LinkedIn
Prefer Not to Use
Other
Which Social Media Do IT Pros Prefer to Use?
85% of IT pros surveyed prefer to use Windows while over half (respectively) prefer to use Android and iOS. Half of IT pros prefer to use LinkedIn and
two-fifths prefer to use Facebook over all other social media. One-fifth of IT pros prefer to use Twitter while 12% prefer not to use any social media at all.
Looking across all major device types (mobile/cell phones, tablets and
laptops/desktops), which operating system(s) do you prefer to use?
[choose all that apply]

11. © 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
LITTLE-KNOWN IT PRO FACTS
61%
34%
5%
0%
0%
I love being an IT pro
I like being an IT pro
I neither like nor dislike
being an IT pro
I dislike being an IT pro
I hate being an IT pro
How Do IT Pros Feel about Being IT Pros?
95% of IT pros surveyed enjoy (“like” and “love”, combined) being an IT pro. Over three-fifths of all IT pros love what they do.
And not a single IT pro dislikes or hates their job.
Which of the following best describes your feelings about
being an IT pro? [choose one]