What are IT leaders thinking?
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Removing cost from IT operations is still a priority
Information Age's 2012 reader survey reveals the UK IT management profession's priorities for the coming year
In previous years, Information Age’s reader survey has found that certain technologies and IT management strategies –such as server virtualisation and supporting remote working – consistently rank as the most adopted and the most effective. This year, in order to take a more up-to- the-minute pulse of technology adoption and sentiment, the survey focused on the technologies, IT management strategies and points of view that dominated the agenda in 2011.
The 200 respondents to the survey were a mix of CIOs and IT directors (18%), IT managers (40%), consultants (22%) and line-of-business managers (22%), from organisations of all sizes and sectors.
Judging by the relative adoption of the IT management strategies included in the survey, finding ways to remove cost from IT operations was still a priority during 2011. ‘Re-evaluating ongoing IT projects in light of new budgetary constraints’ was the strategy that the highest proportion of respondents had adopted during 2011 (25%), followed by ‘Renegotiating contracts with IT suppliers’ (21%).
Looking forward to next year, the strategy that the greatest proportion plan to adopt in 2012 is ‘Rationalising business applications’ (24.5%), again followed by ‘Renegotiating contracts’ (21%).
Some other strategies focused on IT cost were less popular, however. ‘Charging business units for IT services on the basis of consumption’ is already in use at over half (53%) of responding organisations with 10,000 or more employees. However, 63% of the total sample has no plans to introduce ‘IT chargebacks’.
Around a fifth (18%) of respondents reported that their organisations had adopted the strategy of ‘Converting capital IT expenditure to operational spend’ during 2011, but 48% had no plan to introduce this strategy.
One of the most discussed IT management strategies in 2011 was ‘bring your own device’, the practice of allowing employees to use their personal devices at work. Although just under half the respondents (46.5%) have no plans to introduce such a scheme, 48% of respondents from organisations with 100,000 employees or more intend to introduce BYOD in 2012.
NEXT>> Technology adoption plans for 2012
