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IT Security Outsourcing Adoption Trend and Customer Experience May, 2013 IT security outsourcing has established a small but growing foothold among IT organizations that face a mix of complex security threats while needing to secure a wide variety of computers and smart devices. In this study, we present data about the five-year trend in IT security outsourcing. We determine how many organizations outsource IT security (frequency), how much of the workload is typically outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also measure the cost experience and service experience of companies that outsource this function, and determine how outsourcing activity and experience vary by organization size and sector. (15 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Bytes] IT Management Staffing Ratios May, 2013 This study examines the question of how many managers a well-run IT organization requires and presents staffing metrics for IT managers as well as two administrative support functions: IT finance and vendor management, and clerical support. To benchmark IT management, we use two metrics: IT managers as a percentage of the IT staff and users per IT manager. We provide metrics for small, midsize, and large organizations. To provide further perspective, we consider the five-year trend in IT managers as an average percentage of the IT staff. We also report metrics for IT finance and clerical staff. (11 pp., 8 Figs) [Research Byte] Desktop Virtualization Adoption Trends and Customer Experience May, 2013 Desktop virtualization adoption continues to rise, but investment has stalled. This study provides an overview of key concepts and vendors in this space. We then examine desktop virtualization adoption and investment trends, providing data on how many organizations have the technology in place, how many are in the process of implementing it, and how many are expanding implementations. We present worldwide adoption and investment rates, adoption by organization size, and adoption in North America over time. We also look at the return on investment experience and total cost of ownership experience of adopters and report on how much they are budgeting per user for new and follow-on investments in virtual desktop solutions. We conclude with recommendations. (18 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Byte] Application Maintenance Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2013 April, 2013 Application maintenance and related functions such as application performance management and application lifecycle management consume an ever-rising portion of the IT budget, and IT organizations need to examine outsourcing strategies. In this study, we report on the percentage of organizations outsourcing application maintenance (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also assess the customer experience by showing how many IT organizations successfully lower costs or improve service by outsourcing application maintenance. (14 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Byte] Shared Services Canada: IT Consolidation on a Grand Scale April, 2013 Although Shared Services Canada is certainly one of the most ambitious government IT transformations ever envisioned, it is still way too early to determine if the goals, including the aggressive financial-savings estimates, are achievable or even realistic. This Research Byte provides a brief update on the scope and progress of this major initiative to consolidate data center, network, and email infrastructure across the federal government. Vendor Discount Report (April 2013) April, 2013 Market intelligence on current discounting practices for business equipment can be difficult obtain. As a result, buyers do not know whether a better deal can be negotiated. This updated report, based on our knowledge of recent deals, provides buyers with guidance concerning current discount structures on a variety of equipment. Categories include IT equipment (desktops, laptops, network equipment, printers, servers, and storage), office equipment (copiers, mail equipment), forklifts, medical equipment, test equipment, and miscellaneous equipment. Major vendors include IBM, HP, Dell, HP, Apple, and others. Includes a downloadable PDF workbook of more than 350 deals used in the report to calculate average discounts and soft cost statistics (14pp., 21 figs.). Project Management Office (PMO) Adoption Trends March, 2013 With the ever increasing demand for efficiency and turnaround of projects, it has become common for organizations to incorporate some degree of uniformity and common standards when it comes to project management. In this study, we examine the trend toward adoption of project management offices (PMOs), a best practice that has been growing in popularity. We present recent adoption trends for the strategy. We also examine the influence of sector on the adoption rate. (10 pp., 5 figs.) [Research Byte] Database Administration Staffing Ratios March, 2013 Database administrators (DBAs) make up a slightly shrinking percentage of the total IT staff, despite the growing amounts of data that organizations are collecting and maintaining. This study helps IT managers determine whether they are keeping pace with industry standards by providing four benchmarks: DBAs as a percentage of the IT staff, DBAs as a percentage of the Infrastructure Group, users per DBA, and business applications per DBA. We present benchmarks for small, midsize, and large organizations. We also examine the influence of sector on these benchmarks as well as the three-year trend in DBA staffing. (18 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Bytes] Best Practices for Benchmarking IT Budget Ratios February, 2013 Benchmarking is a popular way for IT organizations to justify their IT budgets and better focus their efforts toward continuous improvement. But without following certain principles, business leaders will likely question the validity of the outcome. This report, based on many years of benchmarking exercises at Computer Economics, outlines three complementary approaches to benchmarking. It then identifies five best practices for defining peer groups, selecting key metrics, understanding variations by industry and organization size, analyzing gaps, and translating findings into actions. (15 pp., 6 figs.) [Research Byte] Supply Chain Management Adoption Trends and Customer Experience February, 2013 Competitive pressures, globalization and increasingly complex offshore manufacturing relationships are spurring organizations to expand their supply chain management (SCM) systems, which encompass a wide variety of technologies and capabilities. This report quantifies the current adoption and investment trends for supply chain management systems as well as the benefits that are driving companies to expand their SCM implementations. We assess these trends by organization size, sector and geography. We look at the ROI and TCO experience of those that have adopted SCM along with current investment per SCM user. We conclude with practical advice for those considering investment in SCM technology. (27 pp., 12 figs.) [Research Byte and Sample Pages] Application Development Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience February, 2013 This study is designed to help IT executives compare their application development outsourcing activity and experience with other IT organizations. The study uses three metrics to measure outsourcing activity: it determines how many organizations outsource application development (frequency), how much of the workload is typically outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also measure the cost experience and service experience of companies that outsource this function, and determine how outsourcing activity and experience vary by organization size and sector. (16 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Byte] Network Support Staffing Ratios February, 2013 This study will help IT managers determine whether their organization is keeping pace with improvements in network management by comparing their network support staffing against industry benchmarks. We provide four basic metrics: network support staff as a percentage of the IT staff, network support staff as a percentage of the IT infrastructure staff, network devices per network support staff member, and users per network support staff member. We provide benchmarks for the composite sample, by sector, and by organization size. (17 pp., 7 figs.) [Research Byte] Application Development and Maintenance Staffing Ratios January, 2013 With the changing environment, the need for programmers is in flux and IT organizations can benefit from periodic assessment of their application development and maintenance staffing levels. This study uses three metrics to make that assessment: application development and maintenance staff as a percentage of the IT staff, users per application development and maintenance staff member, and applications per application development and maintenance staff member. We provide benchmarks for the composite sample, by organization, and by sector. We also provide benchmarks for the larger Application Group, which includes web development and support, quality assurance and testing, and data management personnel and business systems analysts. (19 pp., 7 figs.) [Research Byte] 2013 IT Salary Report January, 2013 The Computer Economics 2013 IT Salary Report provides total compensation (base pay plus incentive pay) for 69 specific IT job functions for more than 400 U.S. metro areas. The executive summary also provides our forecast for pay raises and hiring in 2013 and includes job descriptions for each job function in this study. The salary tables are provided as a downloadable Microsoft Excel workbook, with total salaries reported at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentiles. (30 pp., 7 figs., plus salary tables) [Full Description and Free Executive Summary] Disaster Recovery Outsourcing Trends and Experience January, 2013 Disaster recovery, the ability to restore operations quickly and effectively after a major business disruption, is a critical strategic consideration for organizations. To help IT executives assess their options, this study reports the percentage of organizations outsourcing the disaster recovery function (frequency), the scope of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present data on cost and service experiences, show how these trends differ by organization size, and identify the sectors most likely to outsource disaster recovery services. (15 pp., 8 figs.) [Research Byte] Outlook for IT Spending and Staffing in 2013 January, 2013 This annual report provides guidance for IT executives as they firm up spending plans for the coming year. It is also useful for IT product and service providers in forecasting economic trends for IT spending for 2013. It is based on our fourth-quarter poll of 162 organizations worldwide. The study assesses the spending and staffing actions IT managers are currently taking, the budget actions they took over the past year, and what they are including in their budget plans for the year ahead. Our outlook report provides 2013 forecasts for IT operational spending, IT capital spending, and IT hiring. We also forecast pay raises for IT workers in North America. (34 pp., 27 fig.) [Research Byte] Microsoft Dynamics Stepping onto Large Enterprise Turf December, 2012 Long known as business management software for small and midsized organizations, Microsoft Dynamics is increasingly being used in large and multinational enterprises. This report outlines four customer needs that are driving Microsoft Dynamics up-market and three ways in which Dynamics has become capable of serving these large organizations. Challenges facing Microsoft in gaining market share among larger companies are also discussed. We conclude with examples of customers that illustrate the move of Dynamics into the enterprise market and recommendations for large enterprise buyers who are considering Microsoft Dynamics. (12 pp., 1 fig.) [Research Byte] Technology Trends 2012/2013 November, 2012 This study gives business leaders insight into the staying power of 14 new and popular technologies. It shows how quickly these technologies are being adopted and their ROI/TCO characteristics. We also examine the specific types of solutions under consideration and the amount of money investors are budgeting for these initiatives. Technologies in this year's study include: CRM, data warehouse/BI, ERP, HRM, legacy system renewal, mobile applications, social business/collaboration systems, supply chain management, desktop virtualization, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), tablet computers, and unified communications. (101 pp., 110 figs.) [Full Description and Sample Pages] IT Management Best Practices 2012/2013 September, 2012 As IT management matures as an organizational function, certain policies and disciplines show up again and again in the best-run IT organizations. In this study, we examine the maturity levels and growth rates of 15 selected IT management practices: IT steering committees; IT change control boards; disaster recovery testing; IT security policy compliance audits; IT strategic planning; user satisfaction surveys; project management office; IT spending benchmarking; IT performance metrics; project portfolio management; IT asset management systems; post-implementation audits; IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL); IT balanced scorecard; and open source contributions. (30 pp., 19 figs.) [Full Report Description and Sample Pages] IT Outsourcing Statistics: 2012/2013 September, 2012 This major study reports current levels of outsourcing by U.S. and Canadian organizations for 11 IT functions: application development, application hosting, application maintenance, data center operations, database administration, desktop support, disaster recovery services, help desk services, IT security, network operations,and web/e-commerce systems. Among the dozens of outsourcing metrics, we report the percentage of organizations that outsource the function (frequency), the average percentage of work outsourced (level), the change in level of outsourcing over the past year (trend), the outsourcing cost and service experience compared to in-house delivery, and the outsourcing frequency and level by organization size and sector. (111 pp., 100 figs.) [Full Report Description and Sample Pages] IT Staffing Ratios: Benchmarking Metrics and Analysis for 14 Key IT Job Functions August, 2012 This special publication bundles the entire collection of our reports on IT staffing ratios. The IT functions covered include IT management, project management, help desk, desktop support, business analysts, server support, network administration, applications development, ERP support, database administration, data warehouse/business intelligence, IT quality assurance, IT security, and web/e-commerce. This special collection is a valuable source of information for IT executives interested in benchmarking their staffing levels with those of similar organizations. (244 pp., 122 figs.) [Full Report Description and Free Sample] IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2012/2013: Full Study June, 2012 Our 2012/2013 IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study provides a comprehensive view of the current state of IT budgeting and staffing levels for business and governmental organizations in the U.S. and Canada, based on our 23rd annual survey. Detailed metrics are provided by organization size and by industry sector. This article allows purchase of all 23 chapters at a significant discount off the individual chapter price. Individual chapters are also available for purchase--click the Full Study Description below for details. (1,200+ pp., 700+ figs.) [Full Study Description and Individual Chapter Pricing] Current Trends in CRM Adoption and Customer Experience June, 2012 Rising customer expectations, current economic conditions, and new technologies are driving increasing adoption of customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This study helps IT executives make better decisions regarding CRM investments by analyzing current trends in CRM adoption along with the associated risks and rewards. We show the three-year trend in the CRM deployment as well as the worldwide adoption and investment rates by sector, organization size, and geography. We also measure CRM customer experience in terms of the success rates for return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO). Finally, we assess CRM investment levels for new implementations and improvements to existing systems. We wrap up with our recommendations for improving the ROI of CRM. (19 pp., 12 figs.) [Research Byte] |
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IT Management Staffing Stable Over Time Investment in Desktop Virtualization Stalls App Maintenance Outsourcing Gets Moderate Rating Shared Services Canada: IT Consolidation on a Grand Scale >> Browse all Research Bytes |
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