Kaseya has published the results of its annual IT operations benchmark survey, which offers insight into the success drivers for IT groups at SMB and midmarket enterprises.
The survey, based on input from more than 900 respondents globally, compares IT department practices based on their IT management maturity level. The IT management maturity model, developed by Kaseya specifically for SMBs and midmarket organisations, consists of five levels:
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Reactive: Responding to individual user challenges and requests;
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Efficient: Having a systematic approach to solving known issues and dealing with daily tasks;
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Proactive: Taking a proactive approach to IT management, automating repetitive tasks and many remedial actions;
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Aligned: Tracking and managing against SLAs of availability and performance expectations;
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Strategic: Achieving IT operational excellence and taking a strategic role in driving business innovation.
SMB and Midmarket IT Enterprises Find Themselves on Both Sides of the Maturity Spectrum, But Steady Move Towards Increased Maturity
According to Kaseya's research, 83 percent of respondents classify their IT organisation as being at one of the first three, less mature levels on the IT Management Maturity Model: Reactive, Efficient, or Proactive. At the opposite end of the spectrum, when compared to the 2016 survey, the number of high maturity companies increased by three percent (now 17 percent). This is the second year in a row that the survey results revealed a move up the scale - highlighting a steady, growing trend towards IT organisation maturation.
IT Success Metrics in Place Indicate a Strong Sign that a Company is Highly Mature on the IT Scale
Forty-six percent of companies with higher maturity levels (Strategic and Aligned) have formal service-level agreements (SLAs) in place that are mandatory guidelines. In comparison, only 21 percent of all respondents have SLAs in place, and less than 10 percent of Reactive companies have SLAs. This trend continues when comparing companies that measure Mean Time to Recover (MTTR). Nearly 60 percent of the companies with higher maturity levels measure MTTR, but only 34 percent of all respondents and 22 percent of Reactive companies do so.
The More Strategic the Organisation the Higher Regarded the CIO and IT Department
Technology is a vital component of any business, and the survey showed the CIO's role today is about more than just ensuring that company servers are up and functioning. The majority of respondents held the CIO in high regard, with 81 percent of the companies within the higher maturity levels (Strategic and Aligned) indicating that the head of the IT department influences C-level decision-making within the company. In contrast, only 76 percent of less mature companies believe IT has that level of influence.
Other Highlights
Other highlights from Kaseya's 2017 IT operations benchmark survey include:
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Growth in Artificial Intelligence: Almost a quarter of "mature" organisations (Aligned and Strategic) use predictive analytics compared to only 4 percent of reactive companies;
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Mature Organisations Leverage the Cloud: Half of the higher maturity level organisations expect to have deployed cloud services, PaaS, IaaS or SaaS. By comparison, only 35 percent of Reactive organisations plan to use cloud services;
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Security is a Priority Across the Board: 40 percent of organisations in all categories feel maintaining privacy and securing data is the top IT challenge in the coming year;
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Similar Priorities for Reactive and Strategic Organisations: Companies at both ends of the spectrum-Strategic and Reactive-reported the same 2017 priorities: Completing IT Projects on Time and also Reducing IT Costs;
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Microsoft is the Cloud Service Leader: Microsoft is by far considered the cloud service leader by survey respondents, with Office 365 used by the majority. Amazon Web Services was right behind Microsoft.
"One of the most important findings in our annual survey of SMB and midmarket enterprises and their IT practices is a significant year-over-year increase in the number of what we call 'mature' organisations. As companies of all sizes embrace modern tactics and leverage strategic new technology, such as the cloud, predictive analytics and advanced security, they become more 'mature' as an IT organisation as a result," said Taunia Kipp, global senior vice president of marketing for Kaseya. "The IT Operations Benchmark Survey is seen as a key resource for organisations across all levels of the maturity model to gauge their success against others, as well as offer insight into what makes the more mature organisations successful. This survey 'opens the curtains' offering visibility into the inner-workings of a variety of IT organisations-a strategic advantage to any sized company that would like to learn why some IT organisations succeed while others are more reactive."
