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What IT Organizations and Service Providers Can Expect in a COVID-19 Recovery
Working From Home Was Already Surging Before Pandemic
Rise in Organized Security Threats Highlights Need for Cybersecurity Service Providers
IT Project Manager Staffing Reaches High Water Mark
IT Spending as a Percentage of Revenue by Industry, Company Size, and Region
Featured Research
COVID-19 Impact on IT Organizations and Service Provider Relationships
March, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, IT leaders are asking what actions they should take and what a recovery will look like. The recovery will include reorganization of IT service delivery, invocation of force majeure, and renegotiation of support agreements with third parties. This presentation lays out the expected life-cycle stages for the current pandemic and its impact on IT services short-term and long-term. We also outline specific contractual and legal considerations that IT leaders should understand in renegotiating relationships with service providers. (35 slides).[Research Byte]
Agile Development Adoption and Best Practices
March, 2020
After more than two decades of maturation, agile development methodologies promise to deliver new systems more quickly, improve software quality, and increase user satisfaction. While adoption remains only moderate in corporate IT groups, agile development continues to gain adherents as organizations seek to respond to a continuously changing environment. In this study, we report how widely and deeply agile development is being embraced by IT groups today, by organization size and sector. We conclude with our recommendations on how to best use, and not misuse, agile development. (17 pp., 6 fig.)[Research Byte]
Trends in Telecommuting in the IT Workforce
March, 2020
The practice of working remotely has skyrocketed over the past 11 years for many reasons, and in early 2020 it got a huge boost with growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus. This report examines the reasons for the rise in telecommuting, how often IT workers do so, and what benefits companies and employees are enjoying—while also being mindful of possible disadvantages. We conclude with best-practice recommendations for a sound telecommuting policy. (10 pp., 4 fig.)[Research Byte]
Cybersecurity Services RadarView 2020
March, 2020
This report provides highly detailed, comprehensive RadarView Profiles of the top 28 cybersecurity service providers along with their assets and experience in combating ever-growing security and privacy threats. It analyzes how the service provider landscape has evolved, not only in terms of categorization but also in the way they are investing in developing talent, enhancing organizational structures, expanding geographic focus, and strengthening their partner network. The service providers are judged on practice maturity, partnership ecosystem, and investments and innovation. (88 pp.)[Research Byte]
Business Continuity under a Pandemic Scenario
March, 2020
Pandemics are fundamentally different from the disasters commonly envisioned in disaster recovery and business continuity plans. The most recent threat of the Wuhan coronavirus highlights the fact that most organizations are not prepared for a pandemic scenario. This updated report outlines the specific ways in which pandemics are different from other types of disasters. It suggests three planning scenarios, and it outlines specific actions that IT risk managers should consider to prepare for them. If adequately prepared, the IT group will be able to continue to support critical business functions, and it can provide solutions to help the organization get through a pandemic. (13 pp., 1 fig.)Note: In recognition of the urgent need, we are now offering this full report at no charge.
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IT Project Management Staffing Ratios
March, 2020
In today’s environment of rapid change, the role of the IT project manager is critical. It is no surprise, then, that after two years of decline, the number of project managers as a percentage of the total IT staff increased in 2018 and 2019. In this study, we assess how many project managers a typical IT organization requires. We present five benchmarks: project managers as a percentage of the IT staff, project managers as a percentage of the Application Group, users per project manager, applications per project manager, and application programmers per project manager. Our analysis also includes the influence of organization size and industry sector. We conclude with recommendations on assessing the performance of the project management function. (25 pp., 11 fig.)[Research Byte]
Coronavirus Impact Index by Industry
March, 2020
COVID-19 fears continue to grip the world, with a growing number of people infected. In addition to the human tragedy, there is also a massive impact on business. But to truly understand the impact of the coronavirus on the world’s economy, it is important to view its varying effects by industry. This free Research Byte provides the analysis.Penetration Testing Adoption and Best Practices
March, 2020
Penetration testing is an important element of IT security best practices. However, by itself, penetration testing is insufficient. It needs to be part of a robust and iterative process, in combination with the other security best practices to make it a formidable defensive weapon. In this report, we look at the maturity of penetration testing as an IT discipline. We assess current adoption trends by organization size and sector. We conclude with practical advice on best practices for conducting penetration tests. (15 pp., 6 fig)[Research Byte]
Two-Factor Authentication Adoption and Best Practices
February, 2020
Two-factor authentication is an IT security best practice that provides an extra layer of protection for system access. It is a highly advisable security measure, but our annual survey of IT management best practices shows that not enough companies use it formally and consistently. This report begins with a brief explanation of two-factor authentication. We next study two-factor authentication adoption and practice levels, examining those by organization size and sector. We conclude with best-practice recommendations. (16 pp., 6 fig.)[Research Byte]
Desktop Support Staffing Ratios
February, 2020
When viewed as a percentage of the total IT staff, the percentage of desktop support personnel has now reached a three-year low. We expect this metric to stay flat or decline further in the near future for several reasons. In this study, we use four metrics for benchmarking: desktop support staff as a percentage of the IT staff, PCs per desktop support staff member, applications per desktop support staff member, and users per support staff member. We also assess these ratios by organization size and sector. In addition, we provide benchmarks for the end-user support group, comprised of desktop support, help desk support, and the IT training/documentation staff. We conclude with strategies for improving the efficiency of the desktop support staff. (24 pp., 11 fig.)[Research Byte]
Technology Trends 2020
February, 2020
This major study provides insight into the customer experience and adoption rates for 15 technologies that are top-of-mind for IT leaders worldwide. The study also delves into satisfaction of the customer experience and the specific types of solutions under consideration. With this information business leaders are in a better position to assess the potential risks and rewards of each of these technologies. They also can gain insight into just how aggressively competitors and peers are making these investments. Forward looking, we also explore 18 future and early adopter technologies along with level of awareness and adoption (141 pp., 113 figs.)[Full Description and Sample Pages]
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Help Desk Staffing Ratios
January, 2020
The help desk not only plays a key role in maintaining user productivity, it also serves as the day-to-day face of the IT organization. This report provides staffing benchmarks for the help desk (service desk), which took a significant jump this year. We look at the trend in help desk staffing over a five-year period and provide four benchmarks by organization size and sector: help desk staff as a percentage of the IT staff, users per help desk staff member, applications per help desk staff member, and first-call resolution rate. Because companies organize the end-user support function in different ways, we also provide benchmarks for a combined help desk and desktop support staff. We conclude with recommendations on optimizing help desk staffing levels. (24 pp., 11 fig.)[Research Byte]
E-Commerce Adoption Trends and Customer Experience
January, 2020
For many organizations, e-commerce systems are not a nice-to-have but an essential element of their business model. Nevertheless, while the overall ROI and TCO experience of e-commerce systems are positive, these systems can be complex and difficult to deploy. This report provides an overview of e-commerce 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 also look at the ROI experience, TCO experience, and which type of e-commerce applications are the most popular. We conclude with important principles for planning and implementing e-commerce systems. (21 pp., 11 fig.)[Research Byte]
Business Analyst Staffing Ratios
January, 2020
Business analysts continue to play a critical role in IT organizations, although they declined again this year as a percentage of the IT staff. The business analyst serves as a bridge between the IT organization and business users. It is a multifaceted role that is important for ensuring that IT application systems meet business objectives. In this study, we assess staffing levels for the business analyst using four metrics: business analysts as a percentage of the IT staff, business analysts as a percentage of the Application Group, applications per business analyst, and users per business analyst. We also present ratios by organization size and sector. (23 pp., 10 fig.)[Research Byte]
Worldwide IT Spending and Staffing Outlook for 2020
January, 2020
Although IT leaders worldwide have a positive outlook for the global economy, that outlook seems a bit tinged with frustration compared to previous years. This report, based on our Q4 survey, provides data on the global and U.S./Canadian trends for IT spending and staffing in 2020. This year, our report assesses IT operational and capital spending plans, executive priorities for IT investment, and plans for hiring, outsourcing, and pay raises for IT organizations worldwide and in the U.S. and Canada. (34 pp., 24 fig.)[Research Byte]
IT Salary Report 2020
December, 2019
The Computer Economics IT Salary Report 2020 provides total compensation for 77 IT job functions for more than 400 U.S. metro areas and 20 industry sectors. The executive summary also provides our forecast for pay raises and hiring in 2020 and includes job descriptions for each job function. 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. (37 pp., 8 figs., plus salary tables)[Research Byte]
[Full Description and Free Executive Summary]
IT Spending Benchmarks for Very Small Organizations 2019/2020
November, 2019
For the first time, Computer Economics has conducted a study on the IT spending habits of “very small” organizations in the U.S. and Canada, a population that is beneath the size threshold for our annual IT spending and staffing benchmark study. This report examines high-level IT spending, staffing metrics and trends for such very small IT organizations. We further break down the high-level metrics by three sectors: manufacturing, retail and wholesale distribution; professional and technical services; and financial services. To qualify as very small for the purposes of this study, a company has to be either under $50 million in revenue or under $1 million in IT operational spending. (36 pp., 17 fig.)[Research Byte]
IT Management Best Practices 2019/2020
September, 2019
The best-run IT organizations not only focus their process improvement efforts on those of other departments, they also seek to optimize their own IT management processes internally. In this study, we examine the growth and maturity of 34 IT management practices which we have grouped into five major categories: IT governance practices, IT financial management practices, IT operational management practices, IT security and risk management practices, and application development practices. (197 pp., 178 figs.)[Full Report Description and Sample Pages]
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IT Outsourcing Statistics 2019/2020
August, 2019
This major study profiles outsourcing activity for 11 IT functions: application development, application management, data center operations, database administration, desktop support, disaster recovery services, help desk services, IT security, network operations, system implementation/integration and web/e-commerce systems. For each IT function, we measure the frequency and level of outsourcing. We also look at the current plans of IT organizations to increase or decrease the amount of work they outsource. We examine the customer experience to assess whether organizations are successfully lowering costs or improving service through outsourcing. Finally, we show the outsourcing frequency by sector for each function. (115 pp., 97 fig.)Full Report Description
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IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2019/2020: Full Study
July, 2019
Our 2019/2020 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 30th annual survey. Detailed metrics are provided by organization size and by industry sector. From within this article, you can purchase all 31 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. (1,811 pp., 1,057 figs.)[Full Study Description and Individual Chapter Pricing]