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

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
DE CE MBE R 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
TAS KE D WI TH DE LI V E RI NG BUS I NE S S I MP ACT
(GERMANY)

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—95 percent—of respondents indicated that adopting significant new
technologies is at least somewhat important to their organization’s long-term success;
of those, 47 percent said it is important and another 26 percent said it is extremely
important
• Budget limitations ranked as the top barrier to adopting those significant new
technologies, followed by inability to convince decision makers of the need and/or
benefit and a shortage of IT personnel to implement and/or manage the technology,
respectively
• While 53 percent of survey-takers indicated they view their organizations’ CIO as an
enabler in adopting significant new technologies, more than one-third 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 one-third of IT professionals surveyed said it took longer than
anticipated—9 percent said much longer—for the last significant new technology their
organization adopted to start impacting business and/or end-user efficiency
• Slightly more than 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 one-third said it took longer than expected—9 percent of
those said it took much longer
• More than 80 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 half 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.
• 36 percent of survey-takers said more resources, such as budget, personnel and
time, ranked as their number one need to feel more empowered
• Greater IT department autonomy (31 percent), more or better training and
development (26 percent), stronger CIO support when liaising with other business
leaders (26 percent) and more or better strategic counsel and guidance from the CIO
(25 percent) rounded out the list of IT’s top five needs ranked number one by IT
professionals 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
375 IT practitioners, managers and directors in Germany from small,
mid-size and enterprise companies participated in a December 2014 online survey
14%
18%
17%
11%10%
10%
8% 12%
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
62%9%
12%
8%
9%
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 F O R L O N G - TE R M S U C C E S S
26%
47%
22%
5%
0%
28%
48%
21%
3%
1%
25%
46%
21%
8%
0%
24%
47%
24%
5%
0%
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 three-fourths of all IT pros surveyed indicate that adopting significant new technologies is important or
extremely important to their company’s long-term business success. By business size, just over one-fifth of IT
pros from small, mid-size and enterprise companies (respectively) found adoption only somewhat important
to their company’s long-term business success.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
7
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
59%
46%
41%
40%
34%
46%
56%
43%
41%
28%
53%
1%
59%
48%
41%
38%
32%
42%
55%
42%
46%
34%
48%
2%
58%
39%
39%
31%
44%
56%
63%
45%
39%
24%
55%
0%
61%
49%
44%
51%
29%
44%
53%
41%
34%
21%
59%
2%
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-fifths of all IT pros surveyed indicate that budget limitations is one of their top 5 barriers to IT adoption, with over one-
fifth listing budget limitations as their biggest barrier. By weighted rank, budget limitations is also the #1 barrier, followed by (#2 tie)
convincing business decision makers of the need/benefit of IT adoption and (#2 tie) shortage of IT personnel to implement and/or
manage a significant new technology. By business size, budget limitations is #1 most mentioned in small business and enterprise, and
#2 in mid-size business. Budget limitations is also #1 by weighted rank regardless of business size. Behind #1 in weighted rank, IT
pros in small business indicate (#2) convincing decision makers of the need/benefit followed by both shortage of IT personnel and need
to support old, legacy systems (#3, tie). Mid-size business IT pros state security/compliance concerns (#2) and disruption to
business/end users (#3) while enterprise IT pros indicate shortage of IT personnel as #2 and lack of empowerment as #3.
#1 by weighted rank
#2 tie by weighted rank
#7 by weighted rank
#4 by weighted rank

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
8
E N G AG I N G TH E C I O
35%
48%
40%
23%
11%
17%
1%
32%
44%
37%
23%
9%
16%
0%
41%
49%
46%
23%
15%
21%
1%
35%
55%
41%
22%
11%
14%
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 half of all IT pros surveyed are required to engage their CIO during the resource planning stage while
two-fifths are required to do so during the procurement/purchasing stage, and over one-third engage during
the initial exploratory phase. As business size increases, the percentage of IT pros who are required to engage
their CIO during the resource planning stage also increases.

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%
53%
19%
13%
16%
53%
18%
13%
23%
43%
24%
11%
12%
60%
15%
14%
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]
Over half of all IT pros surveyed consider their CIO an enabler in regard to adopting significant new
technologies. By business size, more mid-size business IT pros consider their CIO either a barrier or uninvolved
compared with small business and enterprise IT pros (respectively). Over half of small business IT pros and
three-fifths of enterprise IT pros feel their CIO is an enabler in the adoption of significant new technologies
while only slightly over two-fifths of mid-size IT pros feel the same.

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
10
P R I M ARY R O L E O F C I O
38%
21%
40%
24%
33%
24%
1%
38%
25%
34%
23%
34%
25%
0%
45%
24%
41%
25%
35%
23%
1%
34%
14%
51%
23%
30%
23%
2%
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]
Two-fifths of all IT pros surveyed consider their CIO’s primary role as providing strategic counsel & guidance
while nearly the same number consider their CIO’s primary role to be budget approvals. One-third consider the
CIO’s primary role as IT project management. By business size, the largest percentage of enterprise IT pros
consider the primary role to be strategic counsel & guidance while the largest percentage of IT pros in small
and mid-size businesses (respectively) consider the primary role to be budget approvals.
#1
#2
#3
#4 tie
#4 tie

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
26%
25%
22%
31%
36%
22%
26%
1%
26%
21%
23%
35%
30%
20%
22%
0%
25%
25%
25%
35%
46%
21%
31%
0%
27%
33%
20%
23%
40%
27%
29%
2%
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 one-third 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 their CIO to allow for more autonomy
of the IT department, and just over one-fourth (respectively) would like for their CIO to provide more/better IT
training & development and provide stronger support of IT when liaising with the business. As business size
increases, the need for CIOs to provide more/better strategic counsel & guidance and provide more timely
approvals (respectively) also increases.
#1
#3 tie
#2
#3 tie
#5

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
12
TI M E N E E D E D TO C O M P L E TE S TAG E S
2.80
3.14
3.14
3.34
4.09
4.49
2.87
3.18
3.25
3.46
3.99
4.26
2.77
3.30
3.13
3.31
4.03
4.46
2.71
2.95
2.95
3.17
4.31
4.90
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 Research stage takes the longest to complete (by overall weighted rank average),
with one-third ranking it as their longest stage of the six stages. The Budget Acquisition stage and Deployment/Implementation
stage (respectively) follow as the next longest stages. The shortest stage based on length of time needed to complete is End
User Training. By business size, the Research stage takes the longest to complete regardless of business size. Behind the
Research stage, small business IT pros rank Budget Acquisition as the second-longest stage and Deployment/Implementation as
third-longest stage while IT pros in mid-size businesses rank Deployment/Implementation stage as second-longest and Budget
Acquisition as third-longest. Enterprise IT pros’ top 3 rank mirrors the overall findings.
#1 LONGEST Stage 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
8%
21%
35%
25%
9%
4%
7%
21%
40%
22%
8%
2%
8%
21%
25%
29%
13%
5%
9%
20%
32%
27%
6%
5%
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 one-third of all IT pros surveyed indicate it took about the amount of time 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 slightly longer than planned, while one-fifth say it took a slightly
shorter length of time than expected. By business size, one-third of enterprise IT pros and nearly one-third of
small business IT pros indicate it took longer than expected while over two-fifths of IT pros in mid-size
businesses say the same.

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 )
4%
15%
34%
24%
9%
13%
5%
18%
32%
27%
7%
11%
4%
15%
34%
21%
11%
15%
2%
11%
38%
22%
13%
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
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]
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-fourth indicate it
took slightly longer than anticipated. By business size, one-third of IT pros from small, mid-size and enterprise
(respectively) indicate it took longer than planned/expected to achieve expected ROI while less than one-fourth
of IT pros from any given business size (respectively) said it took less time 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
9%
41%
35%
11%
4%
9%
45%
35%
8%
3%
10%
40%
26%
16%
8%
7%
36%
41%
12%
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]
Nearly 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
one-tenth were greatly affected. By business size, nearly nine-tenths of small business and enterprise IT pros
(respectively) indicate that the business/end users were affected (minimally affected, affected and greatly
affected combined) while just over four-fifths of mid-size business IT pros say the same.

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]
Over two-fifths of all IT pros surveyed have migrated less than 25% of their IT infrastructure to the cloud while
almost one-fifth have not migrated anything to the cloud, and 18% have migrated half or more of their IT
infrastructure to the cloud. By business size, nearly half of enterprise IT pros have migrated less than 25% to
the cloud while two-fifths of IT pros in small and mid-size businesses (respectively) have migrated the same.
16%
18%
26%
21%
13%
4%
1%
2%
% 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
15%
16%
27%
22%
14%
3%
0%3%
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
20%
16%
23%
24%
13%
5%
0%
0%
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
14%
22%
26%
16%
14%
5%
2%
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
17
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
35%
36%
16%
34%
38%
20%
2%
38%
33%
14%
31%
38%
20%
0%
30%
35%
16%
44%
40%
23%
3%
33%
42%
18%
31%
37%
18%
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]
Nearly two-fifths of IT pros surveyed indicate Storage has been migrated to the cloud while over one-third have
already migrated Software, Database and/or Applications (respectively). As business size increases, the
percentage of IT pros who have migrated Software and Security (respectively) to the cloud also increases. The
largest percentage of mid-size IT pros have migrated Applications while the largest percentage of enterprise IT
pros have migrated Software. More mid-size IT pros have not migrated any areas to the cloud compared to
their small business and enterprise IT pro counterparts (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 - C R I TI C A L 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]
Two-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 16% say that has
happened 11+ times. By business size, half of IT pros within small, mid-size and enterprise (respectively)
indicate that such issues have affected the end user’s ability to use business-critical technology 5 times or less
(including “none”) in the past 12 months.
11%
40%27%
12%
4% 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
9%
42%
30%
9%
3%7%
By Business Size: Small
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
14%
40%
19%
16%
4%
8%
By Business Size: Mid-Size
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
12%
36%
28%
14%
5%
5%
By Business Size: Enterprise
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
23%
19%
27%
14%
17%
0%
22%
16%
26%
16%
20%
0%
19%
21%
34%
10%
15%
0%
29%
22%
23%
14%
12%
1%
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]
Over one-fourth of IT pros surveyed indicate that resolving database performance issues would result in the
greatest overall benefits for IT, the business, and end users while just under one-fourth indicate that resolving
network traffic performance issues would result in the greatest benefits. By business size, the largest
percentage of small and mid-size business IT pros (respectively) consider the resolution of database
performance issues as providing the greatest benefit while the largest percentage of enterprise IT pros indicate
the resolution of network traffic performance issues would provide the greatest overall benefits.

The SolarWinds and SolarWinds & Design marks are the
exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC and its
affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending
registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds
trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common
law marks, registered or pending registration in the
United States or in other countries. All other trademarks
mentioned herein are used for identification purposes
only and may be or are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.

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

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (14)

Similar to SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2015: Business at the Speed of IT (Germany)

Similar to SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2015: Business at the Speed of IT (Germany) (20)

More from SolarWinds

More from SolarWinds (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

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

Editor's Notes