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

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
(NO RTH AME RI CA)

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—93 percent—of respondents indicated that adopting significant new
technologies is at least somewhat important to their organization’s long-term success;
of those, 48 percent said it is important and another 20 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 66 percent of survey-takers indicated they view their organizations’ CIO as an
enabler in adopting significant new technologies, nearly one-quarter 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 half of IT professionals surveyed said it took longer than anticipated—23
percent said much longer—for the last significant new technology their organization
adopted to start impacting business and/or end-user efficiency
• Only 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—11 percent of those said
it took much longer
• Nearly 90 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 a quarter 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.
• Nearly 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 training and development (32 percent), greater IT department
autonomy (29 percent), stronger CIO support when liaising with other business
leaders (26 percent) and more or better strategic counsel and guidance from the CIO
(24 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
231 IT practitioners, managers and directors in the U.S. and Canada from public- and private-sector small,
mid-size and enterprise companies participated in a December 2014 online survey
6%
10%
11%
15%
8%
14%
35%
Company Size
(number of employees)
50-99 FTEs
100-249 FTEs
250-499 FTEs
500-999 FTEs
1000-1499 FTEs
1500-4999 FTEs
5000+ FTEs
46%
23%
23%
4% 4%
IT Pro’s Role
Practitioner
Manager
Director
IT Consultant
Other IT-related
53%47%
0%
Public/Private Sector Split
Public Sector
Private Sector
It's Complicated

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
20%
48%
25%
7%
1%
18%
40%
26%
13%
3%
15%
51%
28%
7%
0%
23%
49%
23%
5%
1%
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]
Over 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. By business size, one-fourth 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
77%
48%
36%
43%
41%
41%
52%
55%
34%
20%
49%
0%
74%
58%
42%
50%
37%
47%
47%
45%
26%
16%
58%
0%
79%
52%
36%
49%
34%
39%
59%
54%
26%
16%
51%
0%
77%
42%
34%
39%
45%
40%
50%
58%
40%
23%
46%
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]
Over 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 decision makers of the need/benefit of IT adoption and (#3) shortage of IT personnel to
implement and/or manage the technology. Across all business sizes, budget limitations is both #1 most mentioned and #1
by weighted rank. Behind budget (in weighted rank), IT pros in small businesses indicate the inability to prove ROI as #2
and the need to support old, legacy systems as #3 while IT pros in enterprise indicate lack of IT empowerment as #2 and
lack of skills as #3. The top 3 for IT pros in mid-size businesses aligns with that of the overall findings.
#1 by weighted rank
#2 by weighted rank (tie)
#2 by weighted rank (tie)
#4 by weighted rank
#5 by weighted rank
#7 by weighted rank
#6 by weighted rank

FULL SURVEY RESULTS
8
E N G AG I N G TH E C I O
42%
47%
36%
16%
7%
26%
4%
24%
40%
32%
11%
8%
29%
5%
26%
56%
30%
12%
10%
21%
7%
54%
46%
39%
20%
5%
27%
3%
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 in the resource planning stage, two-fifths
engage in the initial exploratory stage, and one-third engage during the procurement/purchasing phase. By
business size, one-fourth of IT pros from small and mid-size companies (respectively) are required to engage
their CIO in the initial exploratory stage while over half of enterprise IT pros are expected to do the same.

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
14%
66%
9%
11%
18%
55%
18%
8%
12%
67%
10%
12%
14%
69%
6%
11%
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]
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. 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
10
P R I M ARY R O L E O F C I O
48%
13%
49%
38%
23%
37%
3%
53%
5%
42%
32%
26%
37%
3%
44%
16%
38%
44%
28%
41%
0%
48%
14%
56%
37%
20%
35%
4%
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 organization’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]
Almost half 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. Over one-third
consider the CIO’s primary role as a liaison to the business while another one-third consider the CIO’s role as
being involved in all areas of IT. By business size, more enterprise IT pros consider the primary role to be
strategic counsel & guidance while more IT pros in mid-size companies consider the role to be a liaison to the
business.
#1
#2
#3
#4

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
32%
24%
16%
29%
49%
20%
26%
4%
18%
21%
16%
26%
58%
16%
16%
3%
36%
18%
13%
34%
48%
23%
21%
3%
34%
28%
17%
27%
48%
21%
32%
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]
Nearly half of all IT pros surveyed would like their CIO to provide more/better resources (such as
budget/time/staff for project execution) while one-third would like more/better IT training & development. Over
one-fourth would like for their CIO to allow for more autonomy of the IT department while one-fourth would like
the CIO to provide stronger support of IT when liaising with the business. By business size, less than one-fourth
of IT pros in any given company size feel the CIO needs to provide more timely approvals.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#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
2.90
2.77
2.71
3.57
4.50
4.54
2.84
2.92
2.61
3.58
4.37
4.68
2.90
2.92
2.54
3.69
4.51
4.44
2.92
2.67
2.83
3.52
4.53
4.55
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 over one-fourth 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 End User Training. By business size, enterprise IT pros rank Budget Acquisition as the longest stage, followed
by Deployment/Implementation stage, then Research stage while IT pros in small and mid-size businesses (respectively)
rank Research stage second-longest and Budget Acquisition third-longest, both behind Deployment/Implementation 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
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
6%
8%
29%
32%
23%
2%
11%
5%
40%
34%
8%
3%
7%
2%
33%
30%
30%
0%
5%
12%
24%
33%
24%
3%
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
organization adopted: how long did it take to move from
adoption to improved business/employee efficiency?
[choose only one]
Nearly one-third of all IT pros surveyed indicate it took slightly longer than planned/expected to move the last
significant new technology their organization adopted from adoption to improved business/employee efficiency.
Another 29% indicate it took about the amount of time planned/expected, while 23% say it took much longer
than anticipated. By business size, over half of IT pros in mid-size businesses and enterprises (respectively) say
it took longer than planned/expected.

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%
10%
37%
21%
11%
18%
3%
13%
50%
8%
5%
21%
7%
7%
46%
20%
10%
12%
2%
10%
28%
26%
13%
21%
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
organization 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-fifth indicate it
took slightly longer than anticipated. By business size, nearly half of IT pros in mid-size businesses say it took
about the amount of time planned/expected while only 28% of enterprise IT pros say the same.

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
5%
41%
44%
7%
3%
8%
42%
42%
5%
3%
3%
38%
51%
7%
2%
5%
43%
42%
7%
3%
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 organization adopted: how much were
business/end users affected during the implementation
process? [choose only one]
Nearly all 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, less than
one-tenth were greatly affected. By business size, slightly more IT pros in mid-size businesses indicate their
business/end users were affected to a greater extent overall when compared to small business and enterprise.

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]
Three-fifths of all IT pros surveyed have migrated less than 25% of their IT infrastructure to the cloud while
one-tenth have not migrated anything to the cloud and 16% have migrated half or more of their IT
infrastructure to the cloud. As business size increases, the likelihood that nothing has been migrated to the
cloud decreases.
10%
26%
33%
11%
12%
4%
0%
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%
16%
45%
5% 13%
3%
0%
0%
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
15%
28%
28%
10%
12%
5%0% 3%
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
6%
29%
33%
14%
11%
4%
0%
4%
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
26%
34%
11%
53%
42%
13%
4%
18%
29%
8%
45%
50%
18%
8%
28%
33%
8%
51%
31%
18%
0%
27%
36%
14%
56%
45%
9%
4%
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]
Over half of IT pros surveyed indicate Applications have been migrated to the cloud while two-fifths have
already migrated Storage and one-third have migrated Software. As business size increases, so does the
percentage of IT pros who have migrated Applications and Software (respectively) to the cloud. More Enterprise
IT pros have migrated Storage than their mid-size business counterparts.

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 AL TE C H
How many times in the past twelve months has your
organization 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]
Nearly two-thirds 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 15% say
that has happened 6-10 times. By business size, almost one-fourth of IT pros in mid-size businesses have seen
their end users affected 6-10 times while just over one-tenth of small business and enterprise IT pros
(respectively) have seen the same.
6%
64%
15%
4%
5% 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%
58%
13%
3% 3%
8%
By Business Size: Small
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
3%
67%
23%
2%
5%
0%
By Business Size: Mid-Size
None
1-5 times
6-10 times
11-15 times
16+ times
Do not know
5%
64%
12%
6%
5%
8%
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
32%
13%
19%
16%
19%
2%
18%
16%
18%
29%
16%
3%
38%
8%
21%
13%
16%
3%
33%
15%
18%
13%
21%
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]
Nearly one-third 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 one-fifth (respectively) indicate that
either resolving database performance or resolving SaaS apps that integrate with the business would result in
the greatest benefits. By business size, more small business IT pros consider the resolution of hosted
environment performance issues as providing the greatest benefit when compared to mid-sized and enterprise
IT pros.

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trademarks of their respective companies.

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

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

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