Human capital management (HCM) systems are becoming increasingly essential as business leaders recognize that success depends on recruiting and retaining the best people. But while the adoption rate for HCM systems is high, there are challenges in deploying them. This report quantifies the current adoption and investment trends for HCM technology as well as the benefits driving companies to expand their HCM implementations. We assess these trends by organization size, sector, and geography as well as the ROI and TCO experiences of adopters. We conclude with practical advice for planning new investments in HCM systems.
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Server Support Staffing Ratios

November, 2021

Fig 1: Trend in Server Support as a Percentage of IT Staff Although the demand for server support personnel has declined since 2012, in recent years there have been small increases, indicating a flattening of the staffing ratio. How many server support staff members does an organization need today? To answer that question, we provide four key benchmarks: server support staff as a percentage of the IT staff, users per server support staff member, physical servers per server support staff member, and OS instances per server support staff member. We provide these metrics for small, midsize, and large organizations. We also assess how industry sector can influence server support staffing metrics. We conclude with recommendations for improving server support productivity.
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Vendor Discount Report (October 2021)

November, 2021
Fig 2: Forklift vendors: BobCat, Caterpillar, Hiab, Hyster, Linde, MitCat, Raymond, Taylor, Toyota, Yale

The largest and best discounts are often only offered to the vendors’ best customers, and buyers may find it difficult to determine whether the discount offered is typical or whether a better deal can be negotiated. The Vendor Discount Report is designed to give procurement personnel, lessors, lessees and departmental manager’s insight and guidance regarding current discount structures on a variety of categories of equipment in the marketplace.

IT Security Technology Adoption Trends and Customer Experience

November, 2021

Fig 1: Security Adoption and Customer Experience Profile Organizations in all industries and of all sizes need IT security technology, and with threats on the rise the investment rate is the highest of any category of technology that we track. However, return on investment is not as rosy, with security technology earning a moderate rating for ROI. This report examines adoption trends for IT security technology of all types, from basic capabilities such as firewalls and spam filtering to more advanced tools such as incident detection. We analyze the adoption rate, investment rate, and economic experience for security technology overall. We conclude with recommendations for ensuring the success of IT security technology investments.
[Research Byte]

Web/E-Commerce Staffing Ratios

November, 2021

Fig 1: Trend im Web/E-Commerce Staff as a Percentage of IT Staff

Web/e-commerce support personnel play a critical role in organizations, and that has become even more clear in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this report, we provide benchmarks for staffing functions related to web and e-commerce development and operations. We benchmark web staffing with two ratios: web/e-commerce staff as a percentage of the IT staff and users per web/e-commerce staff member. Benchmarks are provided by organization size. We also assess the influence of sector on web/e-commerce staffing.
[Research Byte]

Business Analyst Staffing Ratios

November, 2021
fig 1: Trend in Business Analysts as a Percentage of IT Staff

Business analysts as a percentage of the IT staff has risen from its previous decline, and we expect that this will be the trend. 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 analysts using four metrics: business analysts as a percentage of the IT staff, business analysts as a percentage of the delivery group, applications per business analyst, and users per business analyst. We also present ratios by organization size and sector.
[Research Byte]

Business and Data Analytics Adoption Trends and Customer Experience

November, 2021
Figure 1 shows how business and data analytics compares with 14 other technology initiatives in our study on five metrics.

IT organizations continue to devour data at unprecedented rates, and adoption and investment in business and data analytics tools are reaching new highs. But there are some headwinds that could slow that growth. This report examines adoption and investment trends for business and data analytics of all types, providing insight into how many organizations have the technology in place, how many are implementing it, and how many are expanding investments in new capabilities. To give additional insight, we look at the ROI and TCO experience of those that have adopted the technology. Finally, we recommend steps for a successful implementation.
[Research Byte]

Help Desk Staffing Ratios

October, 2021

Fig. 1 - Trend in Help Desk Staff as a Percentage of IT Staff

The help desk not only plays a key role in maintaining user productivity, but it also serves as the day-to-day face of the IT organization. This report provides staffing benchmarks for the help desk (service desk). We look at the trend in help desk staffing over a five-year period and provide five 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, first-call resolution rate, and help desk tickets per end-user support staff member. 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.
[Research Byte]

Database Administration Staffing Ratios

October, 2021
Fig 7 - Database Administrators as a Percentage of IT Staff, by Sector

As enterprises collect more data and connect more applications, they must ensure that data is secure, reliable, and accessible. But despite these increased demands, companies are restraining the growth in their database administration staff. This report helps IT managers determine whether they are keeping pace with industry standards by providing four benchmarks: database administrators (DBAs) as a percentage of the IT staff, DBAs as a percentage of the Data Center Group, users per DBA, and business applications per DBA. We present benchmarks for small, midsize, and large organizations and examine the influence by sector on these benchmarks. We conclude with best practices for optimizing DBA staffing.
[Research Byte]

Application Development Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience

October, 2021

Outsourcing Profile: App Development The outsourcing of the application development function grew a noticeable amount in our annual IT Outsourcing Statistics study after two years being stuck at a lower percentage. Why the uptick? For starters, there is much going on in the application development universe. This report examines adoption trends and customer experience with application development outsourcing. We report on the percentage of organizations outsourcing it (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present data on the cost and service experience and on how these trends differ by organization size and sector. We conclude with guidelines to consider when outsourcing application development.

[Research Byte]

CRM Adoption Trends and Customer Experience

September, 2021

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are one of the most widely adopted categories of enterprise applications, and investment in new CRM capabilities continues to grow. This report provides an overview of key concepts in the CRM space. We also examine CRM adoption and investment trends, showing how many organizations have the technology in place, how many are in the process of implementing it, and how many are expanding implementations. We then look at the return on investment (ROI) experience, total cost of ownership (TCO) experience, and which type of applications are the most popular. We conclude with recommendations to ensure CRM implementation success and to encourage user adoption. (19 pp., 9 fig.)
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European IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2021/2022: Full Study

September, 2021

This report is a companion study to our annual IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study, which provides a full set of IT budgetary benchmarks and IT staffing metrics by industry sector and organizational size. This companion study for Europe should be used in conjunction with our full study to provide insight into how high-level spending and staffing benchmarks differ for European organizations. (698 pp., 392 Fig.)
[Full Study Description]
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Website Accessibility Adoption and Best Practices

August, 2021

Website accessibility is a best practice requiring the use of inclusive website design to facilitate use by people with disabilities, including visual, hearing, motor skills, or cognitive impairment. When this practice is followed formally and consistently, the experience is improved for people with disabilities who can better understand, navigate, and interact with an organization’s websites. In this report, we study the adoption and practice levels for website accessibility and examine those by organization size and sector. We conclude with practical recommendations for getting started with website accessibility. (19 pp., 6 fig.)
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ERP Adoption Trends and Customer Experience

August, 2021

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have long been one of the most adopted and mature technologies we track, and new investment in ERP systems also remains relatively high. This study helps IT executives understand how aggressively their peers are investing in ERP and the risks and rewards presented by those investments. We report adoption and investment rates by sector and organization size. We also measure customer experience in terms of the success rates for return on investment and total cost of ownership. We also examine where ERP systems are deployed, as well as their typical age and length of time between version upgrades. We wrap up with recommendations for improving the ROI of ERP. (25 pp., 13 fig.)
[Research Byte]

IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2021/2022: Full Study

July, 2021

Our IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study for 2021/2022 provides a comprehensive view of the current state of IT budgeting and staffing levels for business and governmental organizations in the US and Canada, based on our 32nd 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 for details. (1,797 pp., 1,085 figs.)
[Full Study Description and Individual Chapter Pricing]

Technology Trends 2021

March, 2021

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 the satisfaction level 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. Looking forward, we also explore 18 future and early adopter technologies (138 pp., 111 figs.).
[Full Description and Sample Pages]
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IT Salary Report 2021

December, 2020

The Computer Economics IT Salary Report 2021 provides total compensation for 80 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 2021 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. (36 pp., 7 figs., plus salary tables.)
[Research Byte]
[Full Description and Free Executive Summary]

IT Management Best Practices 2020/2021

October, 2020
IT Management Best Practices Cover

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. (196 pp., 178 figs.)
[Full Report Description and Sample Pages]
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IT Outsourcing Statistics 2020/2021

August, 2020

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. (113 pp., 97 fig.)
Full Report Description
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