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Forecast for 2010: IT Operational Budgets to Rise 2%
(Irvine, CA) After a year of budget cuts, layoffs, and delayed projects, IT executives are looking forward to 2010 as a period of stabilization and rebuilding. According to the Computer Economics fourth-quarter outlook survey, the typical IT organization plans to raise its IT spending on operations by 2.0% in the coming year.
December, 2009
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Outlook Brightens for 2010 IT Spending
After a year of budget cuts, layoffs, and delayed projects, IT executives can look forward to 2010 as a period of stabilization and rebuilding. Our annual fourth-quarter economic outlook survey shows that median IT budgets will rise about 2.0% at the median in the coming year. This Research Byte highlights the top-line findings for IT operational budgets from our full report, Outlook for IT Spending and Staffing in 2010.
December, 2009
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Recession Dampens Storage Virtualization Growth
Our research shows organizations are having a highly positive economic experience with storage virtualization, nearly as positive as with server virtualization. The recession, however, may be putting a damper on current investment this year. This Research Byte, which is an excerpt from our full report, examines the three-year adoption trend for storage virtualization.
November, 2009
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Storage Virtualization Adoption Trend and Economic Experience
Organizations are having a highly positive economic experience with storage virtualization, nearly as positive as with server virtualization. Nevertheless, adoption rates are moderate and nearly one-third of organizations are still at the researching stage. This study first examines adoption trends, providing information on how many organizations have storage virtualization in place, how many are in the process of implementing it, and how many are expanding existing implementations. We also look at the economic experience of those that have adopted virtualized storage. We examine ROI as the percentage of organizations that achieve positive or break-even ROI within a two-year period. We also balance the potential ROI against the risks, measured in terms of the percentage that exceed budgets for total cost of ownership. (14 pp., 9 figs.)[Research Byte]
November, 2009
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Data Warehousing as a Distinct Job Function
As the amount of data maintained by organizations increases, the data warehousing and business intelligence function is becoming more and more central to the IT group. Yet, many organizations, especially small firms, do not staff this function as a distinct job position. This Research Byte is a summary of our full report on staffing ratios for data warehouse and business intelligence.
November, 2009
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Staffing Ratios for Data Warehouse and BI Functions
Data warehouses are growing in size, scope, and complexity as they serve increasing numbers of demanding users. For businesses today, properly scaling data warehouse and business intelligence (BI) applications while controlling support costs looms as a key challenge. This study, based on a survey of more than 200 IT organizations, provides benchmarks for staffing the data warehouse, data architect, data analyst, and BI functions. We provide the ratio of data warehouse/BI staff to total IT staff for the composite sample and by organization size. We also provide median staffing ratios by business sector and discuss how to ensure these functions are adequately supported. (11 pp., 6 figs.)[Research Byte]
November, 2009
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Desktop Support Staffing Levels Dip Slightly
PCs still require a great deal of support to maintain high levels of user satisfaction and productivity, and the need for mobility, security, and connectivity make support needs as great as ever. This Research Byte presents data on the 3-year trend in desktop support staffing levels.
October, 2009
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Staffing Ratios for Desktop Support
Desktop computers require support to maintain high levels of user productivity, and the need for mobility, security, and connectivity increase these support requirements. This study provides data on typical desktop support staffing ratios. First we look at desktop support staffing as a percentage of the total IT staff. We show how it has changed over time and how it varies by organization size. We then examine the ratio of PCs to desktop support headcount, broken down for small, midsize, and large organizations. We also consider whether industry sector influences these ratios and whether having many remote locations impacts staffing needs. We conclude with strategies for reducing PC technical support costs. (14 pp., 9 figs.)[Research Byte]
October, 2009
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Help Desk Outsourcing Bucks Trend
While the recession prompted a pull-back in the outsourcing of many IT functions over the past three years, help desk outsourcing is an exception. The percentage of companies outsourcing help desk operations has risen slightly over the past three years, an indication that organizations are profiting from the use of third-party help desk service providers, this Research Byte shows.
October, 2009
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Help Desk Outsourcing Activity, Trends, and Cost Experience
Help desk outsourcing is poised for growth, despite the bad reputation that offshoring of call centers has received in recent years. This study examines current help desk outsourcing activity. We report on the three-year trend in the percentage of organizations outsourcing the help desk (frequency) and average percentage of work outsourced (level). Next we examine outsourcing activity by organization size, reporting on frequency, level, change in amount of work outsourced (current trend), and actual cost vs. expectations (cost experience). Concerning offshore outsourcing, we report on the frequency and trend in the use of offshore service providers. Finally, we consider how outsourcing frequency varies by sector. (17 pp., 12 figs.)[Research Byte]
October, 2009
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Even Small Firms Big on IT Business Analysts
The role of the business analyst is among the most important in the IT organization, serving as a bridge between the IT organization and the users it serves. Not all organizations are large enough to have dedicated business analysts, often combining the function with other roles. Business analysts, however, account for a sizeable portion of most IT staffs. This Research Byte assesses how many IT organizations staff this important function.
October, 2009
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Staffing Ratios for the Business Analyst Function
The role of the business analyst is among the most important in the IT organization, serving as a bridge between the IT group and the users it serves. Therefore, understanding the proper level of staffing for this position is crucial. This article analyzes the statistics from a survey of nearly 200 CIOs and senior IT managers conducted by Computer Economics. Staffing ratios for the business analyst function are provided in terms of the total IT headcount, application development headcount, and user headcount. The effects of organization size and outsourcing status on these metrics are also documented. (12 pp., 9 figs.) [Research Byte]
October, 2009
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Smaller Organizations Drive Sharp Rise in Offshore Outsourcing
(Irvine, Calif.) The recession appears to be spawning a sharp rise in the number of small and midsize companies outsourcing to offshore service providers, according to a recently released study by Computer Economics.
September, 2009
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IT Outsourcing Statistics 2009/2010
This major study reports current levels of outsourcing for 11 IT functions: data center operations, help desk, desktop support, application development, application maintenance, database administration, website/e-commerce systems, data network operations, voice network operations, disaster recovery services, and IT security. For each function, we report the percentage of organizations that outsource the function (frequency), the average percentage of work outsourced (level), the change in level of outsourcing over the past year (trend), and the ability of organizations to accurately predict the cost of outsourcing (cost experience). Offshore outsourcing trends are also reported. (66 pp., 53 figs.)[Full Report Description]
September, 2009
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Helping Users Help Themselves
Over the years, IT managers have tried various ways to lower IT service desk costs, including outsourcing the entire operation. But a better way is to deploy self-support tools, as already deployed in customer service operations. This Research Byte takes a look at adoption trends of these self-help tools by IT organizations for the help desk.
September, 2009
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