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Adoption Rising for Service Desk Self-Support Tools
Service desk (help desk) managers are under pressure to cut budgets. Although outsourcing is a viable approach to reducing service desk costs, a more strategic approach is to deploy self-support tools to allow users to service their own routine needs, reserving the use of help desk personnel for activities that more truly require their intervention. In this study, we examine trends in the adoption of these self-support tools. We look at adoption trends for the composite sample, by organization size, and by industry sector. We also assess the ROI experience of firms that have adopted these technologies, as well as the risk as measured by the percentage of organizations that exceed budgeted amounts for total cost of ownership. (10 pp., 6 figs.)[Executive Summary]
September, 2009
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Four Technologies Offer Best Investment Profile in 2009
(Irvine, Calif.) Four technologies stand out this year as having strong investment profiles: server virtualization, storage virtualization, unified communications, and cloud computing, according to the Computer Economics Technology Trends and IT Management Best Practices 2009/2010 study.
August, 2009
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Help Desk Staffing Levels Holding Up
Because the help desk (or service desk) comprises a sizable portion of the IT staff, it is often a target for cost reduction, outsourcing, and efficiency gains through improved processes and automation tools. This Research Byte looks at the three-year trend in help desk staffing levels, which show a remarkable consistency in spite of the current climate of recession and cost-cutting.
August, 2009
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Help Desk Staffing Ratios 2009
Because the help desk (or service desk) comprises a sizable portion of the IT staff, it is a target for cost reduction, outsourcing, and efficiency gains through improved processes and automation tools. As such, periodically determining appropriate help desk staffing levels for an organization is a useful exercise. This study provides benchmarks for help desk staffing. Key metrics include number of users and number of PCs per help desk staff member. We provide both metrics for the composite sample and by organization size and sector. We also examine help desk staff as a percentage of the IT staff, the trend in help desk personnel over time, and the impact of outsourcing on help desk employee headcount. We conclude with recommendations on optimizing help desk staffing levels. (13 pp, 9 figs.) [Executive Summary]
August, 2009
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Technology Trends and IT Management Best Practices 2009/2010
This study is designed to assist organizations in planning for use of new technologies in light of the adoption and economic experiences of those that have already implemented them. It also gives the IT executive insight into how widely IT management best practices are put to use by other organizations. Technologies covered include ERP, CRM, Business Intelligence, SOA, server virtualization, storage virtualization, desktop virtualization, SaaS, cloud computing, VoIP, unified communications, social networking, and green IT, along with 10 IT management best practices. Read the full report description for more information. (71 pp., 54 figs.) [Full Description and Sample Pages]
August, 2009
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Green Shoots for Green IT
The trend toward making information technology more environmentally friendly is gaining momentum. This trend is encouraged by several factors: rising energy costs, government regulations, and a desire to be perceived as good corporate citizens. These factors are prompting organizations to adopt policies and programs designed to reduce the impact of the IT environment. Based on our full report, this Research Byte looks at our most recent adoption data for green IT initiatives.
August, 2009
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Green IT Taking Root Despite Uncertain Payback
The term green IT most frequently refers to initiatives to reduce IT energy consumption but can also entail recycling, proper disposal of toxic materials, and even telecommuting. Although the adoption of green IT is on a sharp upward curve, the economic rationale for these investments is unclear. This study first looks at adoption trends, which provide insight into how many organizations have green IT initiatives, how many are in the process of implementation, and how quickly such environmentally-friendly investments are likely to increase over the next year. We then examine the economic experience of those that already have made such investments by examining the percentage of organizations that report positive and break-even ROI within a two-year period and the percentage that exceed budgets for total cost of ownership. (9 pp., 7 figs.)[Executive Summary]
August, 2009
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Less Than Half of IT Organizations Have QA Staff
The skills of a capable IT quality assurance group are essential to improving IT processes in general and application development processes in particular. Yet, the appropriate level of QA staffing is often difficult to determine. This Research Byte provides an overview of our full report and focuses on the percentage of organizations that have IT personnel dedicated to the QA function.
July, 2009
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Staffing Ratios for IT Quality Assurance and Testing
The skills of a capable IT quality assurance group are essential to improving IT processes in general and application development processes in particular. Yet, the appropriate level of QA staffing is often difficult to determine. This study provides benchmarks for staffing the QA function within the IT organization. We provide the ratio of QA staff to total IT for the composite sample and by organization size. We also examine the ratio of application developers to QA staff, the four-year trend in QA staffing, and the influence of outsourcing on QA staffing. (14 pp., 8 figs.) [Executive Summary]
July, 2009
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Market Matures for Help Desk Automation Tools
IT organizations are investing at a high rate in service desk (help desk) support tools and applications. This Research Byte discusses the shape of the current market and examines current adoption rates.
July, 2009
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Service Desk Software Prime Focus for IT Investment
Tools for automating the IT service desk (help desk) are part of a mature market. Still, as IT budgets are tightened, demand for help-desk services continues to escalate and the bottom-line benefits of automated, efficiency-enhancing tools have become increasingly attractive. In this study, we examine adoption trends and current investment activity for service desk software by organization size and industry sector. We also discuss types of service desk software and provide our assessment on key factors IT organizations should consider when investing in service desk automation tools. (9 pp., 5 figs.)[Executive Summary]
July, 2009
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Banking, Finance and Healthcare Show Increasing IT Operational Budgets
(IRVINE, Calif.) While IT budget cutting is increasing in most sectors of the economy, a few industries, such as embattled banking and finance organizations, are actually increasing their IT operational spending at the median this year, according to the Computer Economics 20th annual IT spending and staffing study.
July, 2009
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Nearly Half of Organizations Cutting IT Staff This Year
(Irvine, Calif.) Mirroring the economy as a whole, layoffs among IT workers are accelerating, with almost half of all IT organizations reporting that they are budgeted for fewer staff members this year than last year, according to Computer Economics, an IT research and advisory firm.
July, 2009
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IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2009/2010: Chapter 1, Executive Summary
Chapter 1 of our 2009/2010 IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study provides a detailed analysis of the major findings from this year's study. It also describes the contents of the subsequent chapters, and gives detailed information about the demographics of the study participants and the survey methodology. (36 pp., 16 figs.)[Full Study Description]
June, 2009
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IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2009/2010: Chapter 4, Banking and Finance Sector
Chapter 4 provides benchmarks for banking and finance organizations across all organizational sizes. The respondents in this sector include commercial banks, lenders, and other types of financial services organizations. The banks include several local, regional, super-regional, and national banks. Insurance firms are not included in this chapter, but are covered in Chapter 5. The benchmarks provided in this chapter are the same as those in Chapter 2 (Composite Benchmarks). (54 pp., 34 figs.) [Full Study Description]
June, 2009
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