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How to Evaluate IT Procurement Contracts
This report serves as a primer on IT procurement contracts. Our focus is primarily on contracts for IT services, though the principles apply to any type of IT procurement. We explain the typical elements of an IT procurement contract and the major types of contracts, including various types of fixed-price and cost-reimbursable agreements.
November, 2008
IT Management and Administration Staffing Ratios 2019
When it comes to IT managers, it is important to find the sweet spot. Too many, and the IT group can become top-heavy and bureaucratic, while too few can leave IT staff members feeling unsupported and without direction. This report examines how many IT managers a well-run IT organization typically requires, along with staffing metrics for two related administrative functions: IT finance/vendor management and clerical support.
August, 2019
DBA Staff Levels Low and Going Nowhere
Businesses are capturing and analyzing more data than ever, and they must ensure that their databases are secure and readily accessible. But despite these increased data demands, companies have been restraining the growth of their in-house DBA staff in recent years. This Research Byte provides a summary of our full report on database administration staffing ratios.
October, 2019
Database Administration Staffing Ratios 2019
As enterprises collect more data and connect more applications, they must ensure that data is secure, reliable, and accessible. But despite these increased demands, companies are restraining the growth in their database administration staff. This report helps IT managers determine whether they are keeping pace with industry standards by providing four benchmarks: database administrators (DBAs) as a percentage of the IT staff, DBAs as a percentage of the Data Center Group, users per DBA, and business applications per DBA.
October, 2019
Application Developer Staffing Ratio Takes Another Dip
The ratio of application developers to the entire IT staff is a critical metric for IT managers. Why? Because developers tend to make up the largest part of most IT organizations, and they also tend to be among the higher-paid IT employees. Thus, it is vital for IT leaders to keep abreast of trends in application developer staffing ratios. This research byte summarizes our findings in the full report, Application Developer Staffing Ratios.
November, 2019
Application Developer Staffing Ratios 2019
With the use of agile and advent of DevOps, the way that applications are being developed in the enterprise is changing. With these changes, the need for application developers is in flux, and IT organizations can benefit from periodic assessment of their staffing levels. This study uses three metrics to make that assessment: developers as a percentage of the IT staff, users per developer, and applications per developer.
November, 2019
What’s Behind the Decline in Business Analysts?
With digital transformation taking center stage in recent years, we have predicted that the business analyst role would continue to rise in prominence within IT organizations. However, the number of business analysts as a percentage of the total IT staff has dropped for the second straight year. Were we wrong, or are there other factors behind the decline?
January, 2020
Business Analyst Staffing Ratios 2020
Business analysts continue to play a critical role in IT organizations, although they declined again this year as a percentage of the IT staff. The business analyst serves as a bridge between the IT organization and business users. It is a multifaceted role that is important for ensuring that IT application systems meet business objectives. In this study, we assess staffing levels for the business analyst using four metrics: business analysts as a percentage of the IT staff, business analysts as a percentage of the Application Group, applications per business analyst, and users per business analyst.
January, 2020
Two-Factor Authentication Adoption and Best Practices 2020
Two-factor authentication is an IT security best practice that provides an extra layer of protection for system access. It is a highly advisable security measure, but our annual survey of IT management best practices shows that not enough companies use it formally and consistently. This report begins with a brief explanation of two-factor authentication.
February, 2020
Desktop Support Staffing Ratios 2020
When viewed as a percentage of the total IT staff, the percentage of desktop support personnel has now reached a three-year low. We expect this metric to stay flat or decline further in the near future for several reasons. In this study, we use four metrics for benchmarking: desktop support staff as a percentage of the IT staff, PCs per desktop support staff member, applications per desktop support staff member, and users per support staff member.
February, 2020
Desktop Support Staffing Declines to Three-Year Low
Today’s desktop and laptop computers are not the hot commodity they were 30 years ago, but they still require a great deal of support. However, when viewed as a percentage of the total IT staff, the percentage of desktop support personnel has now reached a three-year low. This Research Byte explores some reasons behind the decline.
February, 2020
Network Support Staffing Plateaus, Despite Increasing Pressure
The importance of computer networks cannot be overstated in this digital age. However, the level of network support staffing has plateaued in recent years and shows no signs of increasing. In other words, the increasing need for more bandwidth, better security, analytics, and reliability has not driven up the ratio of network support staff to total IT staff in the typical organization. This Research Byte summarizes the five-year trend in network support staffing ratios.
May, 2020
IT Security Staffing Ratios 2020
IT security staffing has finally increased to match increases in IT spending. In this report, we present the five-year trend in IT security staffing and provide benchmarks for understanding IT security staff head count: as a percentage of the IT staff and as a percentage of the Network and Communications Group. We also analyze IT security staffing in terms of the number of applications, users, and network devices.
November, 2020
IT Salary Report 2021
Our IT Salary Report 2021 provides total compensation for 80 IT job functions for more than 400 U.S. metro areas and 20 industry sectors. The executive summary also provides our forecast for pay raises and hiring in 2021 and includes job descriptions for each job function. The salary tables are provided as a downloadable Microsoft Excel workbook, with total salaries reported at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentiles. (36 pp., 7 figs., plus salary tables)
December, 2020
Server Support Staffing Ratio Stops Freefall
The demand for server support administrators has ticked up this year, ending what had been a steady downward trend since 2013. While it is likely that in the long run the trend toward reducing server support will continue, we would expect slower decreases in the future. This Research Byte examines the reasons for the trend and provides a summary of our full report on server support staffing ratios.
September, 2020