Latest Reports

• Avasant Digital Forum: Future Proofing your Enterprise: Enabling Digital Transformation in the New GCC Economy

  As the GCC region recovers from the global pandemic it is emerging as the world’s foremost digital economy. Rapid Digitalization is enabling regional businesses and governments to transform and thrive in the post-COVID world. Digital transformation is a catalyst for this recovery and adopting a combination of AI, Automation, Analytics, Cloud and Mobility will enable the regional firms to stay ahead of the competition.

  March, 2021

• SD-WAN Leads the Way in ROI

  With the COVID-19 pandemic, the network is at the front and center of resiliency discussions, now so more than ever. Network services have further gained importance, especially for improving business agility and flexibility—which we’ve known for a while. And yet we are mildly surprised that SD-WAN finished first on the risk-reward analysis this year in our annual study. This Research Byte provides a look at the risk/reward profile for the technologies in our full study, Technology Trends 2021.

  March, 2021

• IoT Shows Only an Iota of Growth

  The Internet of Things (IoT) is a maturing technology, and for many years it has promised benefits such as lower labor costs and better tracking of assets. But our data is showing a trend that is common with other technologies as they mature. The adoption of IoT projects and investment in them have remained at a fairly low clip. This research byte provides a summary of our full report on IoT Adoption Trends and Customer Experience.

  March, 2021

• IoT Adoption Trends and Customer Experience 2021

  The Internet of Things (IoT) is a maturing technology, and for many years it has promised benefits such as lower labor costs and better tracking of assets. But investments in IoT projects are stuck at a relatively low rate. This report provides an overview of IoT adoption and investment trends, providing data on how many organizations have the technology in place, how many are in the process of implementation, and how many are expanding implementations. We also look at the return on investment experience, total cost of ownership experience, and considered or planned uses for new IoT investment. We conclude with important principles to apply in planning and implementing IoT systems.

  March, 2021

• How to Negotiate a Computer Lease for Maximum Flexibility

  When it comes to leasing IT equipment, flexibility is a good thing. Business conditions fluctuate, capacity needs change, and new technologies are constantly being introduced. No company likes to be locked into a lease that does not offer the ability to terminate early—with or without an early-termination penalty. This article enumerates 14 leasing terms and conditions that lessees should clarify up front to best serve the buyer's interest and grant maximum flexibility throughout the term of the lease. (7 pp., 2 figs.).

  January, 2019

• COVID-19 Driving Growth of Digital Operations

  The COVID-19 crisis led to severe disruptions in the global socio-economic structure and adversely impacted enterprises. Enterprises were forced to explore all possible avenues to sustain business operations. While cost optimization was one objective, the focus shifted enabling digital operations. Enterprises that had already outsourced could mitigate the COVID-19 impact better than those keeping operations in-house. BPO service providers reacted quickly, leveraged technology, and developed tailored solutions for seamless business operations. This led the enterprises follow the suite driving double-digit growth in BPO engagements in 2020. These trends are covered in Avasant’s new Business Process Transformation Horizons report.

  March, 2021

• Communications System Support Staffing Ratios 2021

  Corporate communications systems have become more complex, although the number of IT specialists who support these systems has stabilized in the past few years. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, IT organizations can benefit from a periodic assessment of their communications system support staffing levels. This study uses three metrics to make that assessment: support staff as a percentage of the IT staff, percentage of support staff in relation to organization size, and support staff spending per user. We provide benchmarks for the composite sample, by organization size, and by sector.

  January, 2021

• Business Process Transformation Horizons

  The report identifies key trends shaping business process management and outsourcing. It helps enterprises identify how peers are transforming their operations, how outsourcing engagements are evolving, and provides Avasant’s view. This report also highlights areas where service providers are focused on developing capabilities to meet the evolving needs of enterprises to help them be future-ready.

  March, 2021

• Communications Staffing Still on Mute

  Corporate communications systems have become more complex, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, as companies struggle to make it possible for large chunks of the workforce to work remotely. Nevertheless, despite the growing complexity, the number of IT specialists who support communications systems has stabilized in the past few years. This Research Byte provides a summary of our full report on communications support staffing ratios.

  January, 2021

• Factors Behind the Decline in Application Development Staffing

  The way that enterprise applications are internally developed and maintained has changed, causing the ratio of application developers to dip again for the third straight year. App developers are some of the highest-paid IT personnel, so it is vital that IT leaders periodically assess this staffing ratio. This research byte summarizes our full report, Application Developer Staffing Ratios.

  February, 2021

• Long-Term Trends in IT Spending and the Impact of the Cloud

  Corporate IT spending varies from year to year as the economy expands and contracts: these are the cyclical trends. But over longer periods, IT spending also changes based on shifts in technology: these are secular trends. What are the secular trends that are currently affecting IT spending, especially those brought about by greatest recent shift in technology: cloud computing? This report examines the 11-year trend in spending for application software, IT personnel, data centers, networking, and other categories, and how cloud computing is changing that mix.

  March, 2018

• Application Developer Staffing Ratios 2021

  The way that enterprise applications are internally developed and maintained has changed. With these changes, the need for application developers is in flux, and IT organizations can benefit from a periodic assessment of their staffing levels. This report uses three metrics to make that assessment: developers as a percentage of the IT staff, users per developer, and applications per developer. We provide benchmarks for the composite sample, by organization size and by sector. We also provide a benchmark for the larger Application Group, which includes personnel engaged in web development and support, quality assurance, data management, and business systems analysis.

  February, 2021