Areas of Interest Archives

Grid View
List View

SUBSCRIPTION
PLANS

Project Managers Decline Again as Percentage of IT Staff
In today’s environment of fast-paced change, the role of the IT project manager would appear to be critical. New technology adoption, regulatory compliance, outsourcing, and the ever-present mandate to do more with less make it vital that projects be properly planned and controlled. Even with the use of project managers, IT projects often fail to come in on time and on budget. The need seems clear, and yet, for the fourth straight year, the percentage of IT staff dedicated to project management has fallen.
January, 2018
Most Large Companies Not Increasing IT Headcounts in 2018
Despite a strong global economy and moderate growth in IT budgets, most large companies are not adding to their IT staff headcounts this year. In fact, on average, they are slightly decreasing them this year. It is too early to tell, but this may be the first sign that the cloud is actually reducing staff rather than just hindering growth in staff levels. This year, for the first time, our outlook for IT spending and staffing for the new year goes beyond the U.S. and Canada to also report the outlook for the rest of the world.
January, 2018
Driving Disruption in Legacy Organizations- Innovating through Digital Transformation
For companies that were fundamentally founded on traditional models, the move toward digital is critical. However, these companies typically face more challenges than their digital native counterparts. Some are even digital skeptics that still view IT as a supporting and back office function, even as data shows that companies farthest along the on the digital maturity curve are 8 times more likely to have gained share than the 15% of companies that are least mature.
January, 2018
Cloud Transition Reins in IT Budgets Worldwide
For the third straight year, IT organizations worldwide are keeping tight control over their IT budgets, with companies in the U.S. and Canada particularly choosing to restrain spending. Rather than a sign of economic uncertainty, much of the reason for the slow budget growth is the cloud transition. This year, for the first time, our outlook for IT spending and staffing in the new year goes beyond the U.S. and Canada to also report the outlook for the rest of the world.
January, 2018
Worldwide IT Spending and Staffing Outlook for 2018
IT leaders all over the world have a positive outlook for the global economy, but despite that confidence, IT budgets are growing only modestly. For the first time, our annual Worldwide IT Spending and Staffing Outlook report provides data on both the global and U.S./Canadian trends for IT spending in the coming year. This year, our Worldwide IT Spending and Staffing Outlook assesses IT operational and capital spending plans for 2018, priorities for IT spending and investment, and plans for hiring, outsourcing, and pay raises for IT organizations worldwide and in the U.S. and Canada. (32 pp., 24 fig.) [Research Byte]
January, 2018
Database Administration Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2018
Database administration (DBA) outsourcing often leads to satisfied customers who save money. But compared to other outsourcing categories, it is not a widely embraced strategy. To help IT executives understand their options, this study examines adoption trends in DBA outsourcing. We report on the percentage of organizations outsourcing database administration (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present success rates for customer cost and service experience. Finally, we show how these trends differ by organization size and sector. (17 pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
January, 2018
DBA Outsourcing Rebounds But Demand in Question
This year, database administration (DBA) outsourcing increased but has not rebounded to recent historic levels. Demand for database administration – whether delivered through internal resources, or outsourced – has fallen for several years running and that may be capping DBA outsourcing growth, despite good service and cost success.
January, 2018
Web/E-Commerce Staffing Ratios 2018
The percentage of the IT staff that is dedicated to web/e-commerce functions has dipped the past four years, with the median dropping to 3.1% of the total IT staff in 2017, down from 4.3% in 2013. In this report, we provide benchmarks for staffing functions related to web and e-commerce development and operations. We benchmark web staffing with two ratios: web/e-commerce staff as a percentage of the IT staff and users per web/e-commerce staff member. Benchmarks are provided by organization size. We also assess the influence of sector on web staffing. (20 pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
January, 2018
Web/E-Commerce Staffing on Downward Trend
Web/e-commerce support personnel play a strategic role in organizations, but several factors have combined to result in a smaller percentage of the typical IT staff devoted to this vital function. It may seem counter-intuitive, considering the increasing volume and complexity of websites and e-commerce. Nevertheless, the percentage of the IT staff devoted to this function has been on a general decline since 2013.
January, 2018
Solving Cross Functional RPA Scaling Issues with an Automation Center of Excellence Webinar
This webinar was about solving Cross Functional RPA Scaling Issues with an Automation Center of Excellence, to learn how CoEs provide a foundation for scaling RPA. Viewers of Solving Cross Functional RPA Scaling Issues with an Automation Center of Excellence will learn: How workforces are leveraging RPA as part of their digital transformation ways a center of excellence can help lay the foundation for RPA scalability key components of an automation center of excellence including the people and process components.
January, 2018
Companies Need to Wake Up and Smell the Compliance
Too many companies fail when it comes to taking basic steps to prevent security incidents, even in the face of catastrophic cyberattacks. Nowhere is that more evident than with IT security compliance audits, one of 32 IT management best practices we study.
January, 2018
IT Security Compliance Audit Adoption and Best Practices
Too many companies are failing when it comes to following best practices to prevent security incidents. An IT security compliance audit is one such best practice. Although many organizations do audit security compliance, not enough of them are doing so formally and consistently. In this report, we first look at adoption trends for IT security compliance audits by organization size and sector. We also discuss the steps an IT organization should take to implement such audits. Finally, we provide recommendations for monitoring the success of security audits. (16 pp. 6 figs.) [Research Byte]
January, 2018
IT Salary Report 2018
The Computer Economics IT Salary Report 2018 provides total compensation for 75 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 2018 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. (33 pp., 7 figs., plus salary tables) [Research Byte] [Full Description and Free Executive Summary]
January, 2018
Vendor Discount Report (Jan. 2018)
Market intelligence on current discounting practices for business equipment can be difficult to obtain. As a result, buyers do not know whether a better deal can be negotiated. This updated report, based on our knowledge of recent deals, provides buyers with guidance concerning current discount structures on a variety of equipment. Categories include IT equipment (desktops, laptops, network equipment, printers, servers, and storage), office equipment (copiers, mail equipment), forklifts, medical equipment, test equipment, and miscellaneous equipment. Major vendors include IBM, HP, Dell, Apple, and others. Includes a downloadable PDF workbook of more than 300 deals used in the report to calculate average discounts and soft cost statistics (14 pp., 21 figs.).
January, 2018
IT Workers Will Average 3.0% Pay Raise in 2018
Wage increases for IT jobs in recent years have been modest, but 2018 looks to be slightly better. The Computer Economics IT Salary Report 2018 indicates that the job market is quickening a bit, and wage pressures will continue to build. However, companies are choosing to not grow IT budgets as quickly as the economy suggests they would.
December, 2017