-
IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2023/2024: Chapter 1: Executive Summary
The Computer Economics IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study (the "ISS"), published annually since 1990, is the definitive source for IT spending and staffing benchmarks and IT performance statistics across multiple industries and government sectors. Download a free copy of the 60+ pages Executive Summary (Chapter 1), which includes a detailed analysis of our major findings of this year's report. It also includes important, high-level IT spending and staffing ratios and trends, including metrics on IT spending as a percentage of revenue, IT spending per user, IT spending growth, IT capital budgets, IT spending priorities, and IT staff count changes.
July, 2023
-
Project Management Office Best Practices 2023
To improve project success, companies often establish a formal project management office (PMO) as a center of excellence for project management disciplines. In some organizations, the PMO operates as an advisory group to project managers, who report directly to business units. In other organizations, project managers report directly to the PMO and are assigned to projects as needed. However, in recent years, the use of PMOs has grown significantly, especially for organizations that use them for all projects.
December, 2023
-
Supply Chain Management Adoption Trends and Customer Experience 2024
Supply chain management (SCM) has become a hot topic in recent years. From grocery shelves running out of toilet paper and cleaning supplies during the pandemic, to shortages of semiconductors leading to auto dealers running out of cars to sell, to cargo ships lined up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the term “supply chain” was on everyone’s lips. But given the resolution of global supply chain issues over the past year, what does this mean for future adoption and investments of SCM systems?
February, 2024
-
IT Staffing Ratios: Benchmarking Metrics and Analysis for 17 Key IT Job Functions
The analysis of IT staffing data has been a core competency of Computer Economics since we began publishing our annual IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study in 1990. Each year, we survey more than 200 IT organizations across 10 major industry sectors, based on our sampling model, to obtain data on IT staffing levels, server counts, network infrastructure, outsourcing, and spending, among other information pertinent to the assessment of IT staffing.
September, 2024
-
IT Spending Trends in Healthcare Payors Sector 2024
In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, payors play a crucial role in managing costs and ensuring quality care. As the industry faces growing demands and technological advancements, healthcare payors must balance the need to improve service quality while remaining competitive. How are they achieving this? This report explores the key IT spending trends driving these transformative investments and their impact on the healthcare payor sector. It also draws on our latest benchmarking survey to offer essential metrics, identify major challenges, and present best practices and recommendations for maximizing IT value. Additionally, it analyzes the impact of IT spending on service quality and cost efficiency.
June, 2024
-
IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2024/2025: Chapter 2: Composite Benchmarks
This year, Avasant Research is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Computer Economics IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study. To mark this milestone, we have accumulated the largest sample of companies in our history (over 350 companies in our single-year sample compared to 215 last year), including a significant number of the world’s largest enterprises. For the first time, we not only have small, midsize, and large chapters but also a very large chapter for companies with over $500 million in IT spending.
September, 2024
-
IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2024/2025: Chapter 34: Utilities
Chapter 34 provides benchmarks for utilities. The 38 respondents in this subsector range in size from $85 million to $100 billion in annual revenue. This category includes gas and electric utilities, power transmission distributors, water and power utilities, and telecommunications service providers.
September, 2024
-
IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2024/2025: Chapter 21: High-Tech
Chapter 21 provides benchmarks for high-tech companies. This category includes computer products manufacturers, telecommunications equipment manufacturers, semiconductor manufacturers, aerospace and defense manufacturers, pharmaceutical makers, biotechnology product makers, and other high-tech manufacturers. The 27 respondents in this sample range in size from a minimum of about $50 million to over $30 billion in revenue.
September, 2024
-
Role of Application Developers is Changing Rapidly
In just five years, application developers as a percentage of IT staff have gone from making up nearly a quarter of the entire IT staff (23.1%) to only 14.2%. This significant drop is not necessarily a sign of mass layoffs of application developers. In fact, we have seen no evidence that fewer application developers are working in IT departments. However, it does signal a change in the overall makeup of IT departments and the changing role of the application developer. This research byte summarizes our full report, Application Developer Staffing Ratios.
-
A New Era of AI: From Hidden Tool to Consumer Staple
Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption has been traditionally difficult to track, as AI was mostly embedded in software. As such, end users did not typically perceive it as AI as much as a function of the product. However, a recent round of consumerization of AI tools has changed the landscape and use of AI in the enterprise. This Research Byte summarizes our full report on AI technology trends.
January, 2025
-
IT Departments Throwing Bodies at the Cybersecurity Problem
The rising proportion of IT personnel dedicated to security highlights organizations’ growing commitment to safeguarding their digital assets. Companies are reacting to high-profile breaches and proactively planning for the increasing number and complexity of cyber threats. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and frequent, businesses recognize that robust security is no longer a luxury but a fundamental requirement for operational continuity and customer trust. This Research Byte examines this trend and summarizes our full report on IT security staffing.
February, 2025
-
IT Staffing Ratios: Benchmarking Metrics and Analysis for 16 Key IT Job Functions
The analysis of IT staffing data has been a core competency of Computer Economics since we began publishing our annual IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study in 1990. Each year, we survey more than 200 IT organizations across 10 major industry sectors, based on our sampling model, to obtain data on IT staffing levels, server counts, network infrastructure, outsourcing, and spending, among other information pertinent to the assessment of IT staffing.
March, 2024
-
Heads Up: Addressing the Specific Device Management Needs of XR Headsets
Many Fortune 500 companies increasingly rely on AR, VR, and XR (augmented, virtual, and extended reality) devices to train employees, collaborate, perform maintenance, visualize data, run product demos, and more. But traditional mobile device management (MDM) or unified endpoint management (UEM) platforms are not necessarily good for managing AR/VR/XR devices. These headsets have specific management and security needs, and once an enterprise scales its AR/VR/XR program, it needs a platform tailored specifically to these types of devices. Innovative companies like ArborXR have stepped up to fill this need.
July, 2023
-
Application Management Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2023
As the application portfolio of an enterprise grows, the ongoing support for those systems can become a burden on the IT organization, leaving little time for developing and implementing new applications. In response, some organizations see outsourcing application management as an attractive option.
December, 2023
-
IT Security Staffing Ratios 2024
The constant beating drum of new security vectors and the recent impact of remote and hybrid work have placed pressure on IT security staffing levels. Enterprises have been steadily increasing IT security budgets and personnel for years. However, IT security personnel as a percentage of the total IT staff has decreased slightly from 4.3% in 2022 to 4.2% in 2023. For three years, security personnel as a percentage has been flat, ranging between 4.2% and 4.3%. Has the supply of IT security personnel finally reached its cap?
February, 2024