Areas of Interest Archives

Grid View
List View

SUBSCRIPTION
PLANS

IT Security Spending Benchmarks
Although IT security spending as a percentage of the IT budget is flat year over year, the trend has been upward over the past four years. This study establishes benchmarks that enable organizations to assess their spending on IT security software, hardware, and services. The benchmarks include IT security spending as a percentage of the IT budget and IT security spending per user. We examine the four-year trend in these benchmarks as well as variances by organization size and sector. We conclude with recommendations for optimizing IT security costs and ensuring the budget is spent effectively. (19 pp., 10 fig.) [Research Byte]
September, 2016
5 Levels of an Airport Revenue Strategy
Airports can drive ancillary revenues by following five key levels of business innovation; Passive Consumer Segmentation, Consumer Push Based on Consumer Segmentation, Individualized Consumer Integration, Passenger Flow Management and Operations Flow Management. Airports can choose from passively segmenting consumers based on a broad mapping of services to targeting specific consumer segments based on demographic/behavioral factors to define services for specific consumer segments.
September, 2016
Project Management Offices Used to Full Extent Less Often
Use of the project management office (PMO) has been on a slow decline the last few years, but the number of organizations that make full use of the PMO for every project is declining much faster. This Research Byte explores use of this best practice.
September, 2016
Project Management Office Adoption Trends
It has become common for organizations to impose some degree of standardization on their project management processes in an effort to increase success rates. In this study, we examine the trend in adoption of project management offices (PMOs), a best practice that has reached maturity and proved its worth. We present recent practice trends, examine the influence of size and sector on adoption, and provide recommendations for how to measure the success of the PMO. (11 pp., 5 fig.) [Research Byte]
September, 2016
HP Inc. Chooses Microsoft Dynamics CRM over Salesforce
In a move that will cause shockwaves in the CRM world, Salesforce.com has lost part of one of its most high-profile accounts to archrival Microsoft. In this Research Byte we review the implications of this big win for Microsoft.
September, 2016
DBA Staffing Levels Remain Flat
The staffing level of database administrators (DBAs) has been essentially flat for two years after a small decline. This is despite the fact that organizations are using increasing amounts of data in their business operations. In this Research Byte, we review the five-year trend in DBA staffing.
September, 2016
Database Administration Staffing Ratios 2016
In recent years, database administrators (DBAs) have made up a somewhat declining portion of the IT staff, despite the growing amounts of data that organizations are maintaining. This study helps IT managers determine whether they are keeping pace with industry standards by providing four benchmarks: 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. We present benchmarks for small, midsize, and large organizations. We also examine the influence of sector on these benchmarks as well as the multiyear trend in DBA staffing. (21pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
September, 2016
CRM Players Add Usability, Integration to Email Inbox
The competition among CRM players continues to heat up around usability and integration of other apps, with many companies joining the fray. CRM solutions are maturing and integrating work processes that were previously performed in other apps, challenging the way we will look at the app portfolio in the future. In this Research Byte, we review the changing CRM landscape.
September, 2016
Desktop Support Outsourcing Shows Decline
Outsourcing of desktop support by IT organizations rose at the beginning of the economic recovery along with IT budgets and renewed hiring, but the number of organizations engaging in the strategy has since fallen significantly. In this Research Byte we review the five year trend in the frequency of desktop support outsourcing.
September, 2016
Desktop Support Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2016
Customer satisfaction with desktop support outsourcing appears to be rising, while the use of these services has not. It could be time to reassess the outsourcing of this function in light of current trends. This study examines adoption trends and customer experience with desktop support outsourcing. We report on the percentage of organizations that outsource (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 the customer’s cost and service experience, and show how use of these services differs by organization size and sector. (17 pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
September, 2016
Digital Business Transformation for Airports
A Digital tsunami is sweeping through the industry, forged by the convergence of changing consumer patterns, evolving business models and rapid technology shifts. Digital transformation is affecting each and every industry, albeit to different levels.
September, 2016
The Future is Cloudy for Desktop Virtualization
Adoption rates remain low for desktop virtualization solutions, and the cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) evolution may be causing disruption in the use of this technology. In this Research Byte, we review the adoption and investment rate trend for this technology.
August, 2016
Desktop Virtualization Adoption Trends and Customer Experience 2016
Desktop virtualization solutions are maturing, but they still have a low adoption rating compared to other technologies studied. This study provides an overview of key concepts and vendors in this space. We then examine desktop virtualization adoption and investment trends, providing data on how many organizations have the technology in place, how many are in the process of implementing it, and how many are expanding implementations. We also look at the return on investment experience, total cost of ownership experience of adopters, and which virtual desktop solutions are the most popular. (18 pp., 9 fig.) [Research Byte]
August, 2016
Natural Language Apps the Next Battlefield for Tech Giants
This week, Microsoft and Apple fired shots on a new battlefield. It wasn’t over an operating system or a mobile phone or living room entertainment. The battle is in natural language technology. In this Research Byte, we explain this technology and its potential.
August, 2016
BYOD Shows Steady Growth as IT Best Practice
According to our new IT Management Best Practices study, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) has become one of the fastest-rising practices in IT organizations today. In this Research Byte we review the steady increase in BYOD practices over the past four years.
August, 2016