SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2015: Business at the Speed of IT (Australia)

IT TRENDS REPORT 2O15:
BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF IT
S URV E Y CO NDUCTE D BY C WHI TE CO NS ULTI NG
DECEMBER 2 0 1 4
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
TASKED WITH DELIVERING BUSINESS IMPACT
(AUS TR AL I A)

STUDY OVERVIEW
• Nearly all—92 percent—of respondents indicated that adopting significant new
technologies is at least somewhat important to their organisation’s long-term
success; of those, 39 percent said it is important and another 24 percent said it
is extremely important
• 84 percent of respondents said their organisations’ end-users were negatively
affected by a performance or availability issue with business critical technology
in the past 12 months; nearly one-third of those reported that such issues
occurred six times or more
• Over 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 strategic counsel and guidance from the CIO (41 percent),
stronger CIO support when liaising with other business leaders (33 percent),
more or better training and development (23 percent) and greater IT department
autonomy (22 percent) rounded out the list of IT’s top five needs ranked number
one by IT professionals surveyed
2
K E Y F I N D I N G S
© 2015 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

STUDY OVERVIEW
3
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
177 IT practitioners, managers and directors in Australia from small,
mid-size and enterprise companies participated in a December 2014 online survey
6%
9%
12%
14%
11%8%
15%
25%
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
56%22%
7%
7%
8%
IT Pro’s Role
Practitioner
Manager
Director
IT Consultant
Other IT-related

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
4
I M P O R TAN C E O F AD O P TI N G F O R L O N G - TE R M S U C C E S S
24%
39%
29%
5%
2%
14%
41%
35%
8%
2%
21%
40%
30%
7%
2%
32%
38%
26%
2%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Extremely Important
Important
Somewhat Important
Not Important at All
Do not know
Importance of Adopting Significant New Technologies for Long-Term Business Success
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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]
Nearly 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. As business size increases, so do the
percentage of IT pros who find adoption extremely important to their company’s long-term business success.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
5
F I V E B I G G E S T B AR R I E R S TO I T AD O P TI O N
74%
64%
44%
36%
43%
35%
50%
42%
28%
22%
50%
1%
74%
65%
41%
27%
41%
39%
45%
41%
29%
27%
55%
2%
72%
65%
56%
28%
40%
35%
56%
40%
30%
21%
47%
2%
75%
62%
40%
45%
46%
33%
51%
45%
26%
20%
49%
0%
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
Other
Top Barriers to IT Adoption of Significant New Technologies – Most Mentioned (%)
Overall Small Bus Mid-Size Bus Enterprise
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]
Nearly three-fourths of all IT pros surveyed indicate that budget limitations is one of their top 5 barriers to IT adoption, with
one-third listing budget limitations as their biggest barrier. By weighted rank, budget limitations is also the #1 barrier, followed
by (#2) convincing business decision makers of the need/benefit of IT adoption and (#3) inability to prove ROI. Across all
business sizes, budget limitations is #1 most mentioned and #1 by weighted rank. Behind the overall top 2 in weighted rank, IT
pros in small businesses indicate lack of skills needed to implement/manage the new technology as #3 while IT pros in mid-size
businesses state security/compliance concerns as #3. IT pros in enterprise indicate that the inability to prove ROI is #2 by
weighted rank, followed by #3 convincing business decision makers of the need/benefit of IT adoption.
#1 by weighted rank
#2 by weighted rank
#4 by weighted rank
#7 by weighted rank
#6 by weighted rank
#5 by weighted rank
#3 by weighted rank

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
6
E N G AG I N G TH E C I O
59%
40%
42%
19%
10%
31%
2%
45%
43%
41%
20%
12%
33%
0%
61%
42%
42%
30%
16%
33%
5%
67%
37%
42%
13%
6%
29%
1%
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
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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 three-fifths of all IT pros surveyed are required to engage their CIO during the initial exploratory stage
while over two-fifths engage their CIO during the procurement/purchasing stage, and two-fifths engage during
the resource planning stage. By business size, at or just under one-third (respectively) of IT pros regardless of
company size seek their CIO’s input throughout the project life of a significant new technology.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
7
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
17%
63%
9%
11%
18%
65%
10%
6%
16%
70%
9%
5%
17%
59%
7%
18%
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 …
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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]
Almost two-thirds of all IT pros surveyed consider their CIO an enabler in regard to adopting significant new
technologies. By business size, slightly more small business IT pros consider their CIO either a barrier or
uninvolved compared with mid-size and enterprise companies (respectively). As business size increases, the
percentage of IT pros who feel their CIO is uninvolved in the adoption of significant new technologies
decreases.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
8
P R I M ARY R O L E O F C I O
48%
7%
50%
48%
16%
41%
5%
43%
14%
39%
49%
31%
39%
0%
47%
7%
61%
49%
16%
51%
7%
51%
2%
52%
47%
8%
38%
6%
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)
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
What is the primary role of your organisation’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]
Half of all IT pros surveyed consider their CIO’s primary role as providing strategic counsel & guidance while
nearly the same number (respectively) consider their CIO’s primary role to be budget approvals or a liaison to
the business. Two-fifths consider the CIO’s primary role as being involved in all areas of IT. By business size,
more mid-size and enterprise IT pros (respectively) consider the primary role to be strategic counsel &
guidance while more IT pros in small companies consider the primary role to be liaison to the business.
#1
#2 tie
#2 tie
#4

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
9
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
23%
41%
21%
22%
51%
21%
33%
3%
35%
39%
18%
23%
45%
23%
31%
0%
23%
54%
23%
28%
58%
30%
35%
5%
15%
35%
21%
19%
51%
15%
34%
4%
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 …
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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]
Over half of all IT pros surveyed would like their CIO to provide more/better resources (such as
budget/time/staff for project execution) while two-fifths would like their CIO to provide more/better strategic
counsel & guidance, and one-third would like for their CIO to provide stronger support when liaising with the
business. As business size increases, the percentage of IT pros needing CIOs to provide more/better
IT training & development decreases.
#1
#4
#5
#3
#2

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
10
TI M E N E E D E D TO C O M P L E TE S TAG E S
2.90
2.65
2.53
3.40
4.77
4.76
2.61
2.98
2.76
3.31
4.67
4.67
2.98
2.60
2.53
3.65
4.65
4.58
3.04
2.48
2.39
3.32
4.88
4.89
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Research
Budget acquisition
Deployment/implementation
Testing
IT training
End user training
Time Needed to Complete Each Stage AFTER Adoption Decision Has Been Made
(weighted rank average)
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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 Deployment/Implementation stage takes the longest to complete (by overall
weighted rank average), with almost one-third ranking it as their longest stage of the six stages. The Budget Acquisition
stage and then Research stage follow as the next longest stages. The shortest stage based on length of time needed to
complete is IT Training. By business size, mid-size and enterprise IT pros’ (respectively) top 3 rank mirrors overall findings
while IT pros in small businesses rank Research stage as the longest stage followed by Deployment/Implementation stage
as the second-longest stage, then Budget Acquisition as the third-longest stage.
#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
11
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%
24%
31%
5%
10%
12%
39%
20%
18%
0%
2%
7%
30%
33%
21%
7%
7%
9%
14%
21%
42%
6%
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
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Please think about the last significant new technology your
organisation adopted: how long did it take to move from
adoption to improved business/employee efficiency?
[choose only one]
Over 30% of all IT pros surveyed indicate it took much longer than planned/expected to move the last
significant new technology their organization adopted from adoption to improved business/employee efficiency.
Another one-fourth indicate it took about the amount of time planned/expected, while one-fourth say it took
slightly longer than anticipated. By business size, over three-fifths of enterprise IT pros say it took longer than
expected while nearly two-fifths of small business IT pros indicate it took about the amount of time planned.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
12
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 )
4%
7%
30%
24%
15%
22%
2%
6%
27%
33%
8%
25%
5%
7%
26%
28%
12%
23%
5%
5%
34%
17%
20%
20%
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
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Please think about the last significant new technology your
organisation adopted: how long did it take to achieve
expected return on investment (ROI)? [choose only one]
Almost 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-fourth indicate it
took slightly longer than anticipated. By business size, one-third of enterprise IT pros indicate it took about the
amount of time planned to achieve expected ROI while one-third of small business IT pros indicate it took
slightly longer than anticipated.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
13
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
4%
36%
45%
12%
3%
4%
45%
41%
10%
0%
2%
44%
37%
12%
5%
5%
27%
51%
13%
5%
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
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
Please think about the last significant new technology
your organisation adopted: how much were
business/end users affected during the implementation
process? [choose only one]
Over 90% of 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, only
12% indicate business/users were greatly affected. As business size increases, the percentage of IT pros
indicating that the business/end users were affected (minimally affected, affected and
greatly affected combined) decreases.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
14
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]
Three-fifths of all IT pros surveyed have migrated less than 25% of their IT infrastructure to the cloud while
just over one-tenth have not migrated anything to the cloud, and 13% have migrated half or more of their IT
infrastructure to the cloud. By business size, nearly one-fifth of small business IT pros have yet to migrate
anything to the cloud while less than one-tenth of IT pros in mid-size businesses and enterprise (respectively)
have yet to do the same.
11%
35%
25%
13%
4%
8%
1%
3%
% of IT Infrastructure Migrated to Cloud
(Overall)
0% migrated
1-9% migrated
10-24% migrated
25-49% migrated
50-74% migrated
75-99% migrated
100% migrated
Do not know
18%
29%29%
14%
2%
6%
0%
2%
By Business Size: Small
0% migrated
1-9% migrated
10-24% migrated
25-49% migrated
50-74% migrated
75-99% migrated
100% migrated
Do not know
7%
35%
26%
14%
5%
9%
0% 5%
By Business Size: Mid-Size
0% migrated
1-9% migrated
10-24% migrated
25-49% migrated
50-74% migrated
75-99% migrated
100% migrated
Do not know
9%
39%
24%
12%
5%
8%1%
2%
By Business Size: Enterprise
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
15
AR E A S O F I T I N F R AS TR U C TU R E M I G R ATE D TO C L O U D
24%
28%
10%
65%
32%
16%
6%
18%
20%
4%
49%
37%
23%
8%
28%
30%
14%
74%
30%
14%
7%
26%
31%
12%
69%
31%
13%
5%
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
Area(s) of IT Infrastructure Already Migrated to the Cloud
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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 two-thirds of IT pros surveyed indicate Applications have been migrated to the cloud while nearly one-
third have already migrated Storage and almost 30% have migrated Software. As business size increases, the
percentage of IT pros who have migrated Software to the cloud increases while the percentage who have not
migrated any areas to the cloud decreases.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
16
I S S U E S AF F E C TI N G TH E U S E O F B U S - C R I TI C AL TE C H
How many times in the past twelve months has your
organisation 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 half 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 16% say that has
happened 11+ times. By business size, a larger percentage of small and mid-size IT pros (respectively) indicate
that business/end users were not affected compared to their enterprise IT pro counterparts.
10%
54%
14%
5%
11% 6%
No. of Times in Past 12 Months
that Performance and/or Availability Issues
Have Affected End User’s Ability
to Use Business-Critical Technology
(Overall)
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
16%
55%
16%
2%
6%
4%
By Business Size: Small
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
14%
44%16%
2%
9%
14%
By Business Size: Mid-Size
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
4%
59%
12%
8%
14%
4%
By Business Size: Enterprise
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
17
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
28%
16%
15%
16%
19%
5%
20%
14%
27%
14%
18%
6%
35%
12%
12%
14%
23%
5%
29%
20%
11%
18%
18%
5%
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 Whose Resolution Produces Greatest Overall Benefit to IT, Business & End Users
Overall
Small Bus
Mid-Size Bus
Enterprise
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]
Nearly 30% 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 indicate that resolving SaaS
applications that integrate with their business would result in the greatest benefits. By business size, over
one-third of mid-size business IT pros consider the resolution of network traffic performance issues as providing
the greatest benefit compared to one-fifth of small business IT pros and just under 30% of enterprise IT pros.

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SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2015: Business at the Speed of IT (Australia)

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SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2015: Business at the Speed of IT (Australia)

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