Latest Reports

• Intelligent Automation Cuts Through Complex Workflows

  Intelligent automation (IA) is becoming a central component of larger transformation engagements. However, some automation projects suffer due to siloed, single-point solutions and a lack of agility. To solve this problem, enterprises are seeking new ways to leverage predictive and semantic automation, and new enterprise platforms are integrating automation to streamline business functions. IA service providers are also simplifying enterprise automation engagements through the implementation of digital personas and low-code/no-code (LCNC). As a result, IA is becoming more intuitive and showing a stronger return on investment. These trends, and others, are covered in our Intelligent Automation Services 2021–2022 RadarView™.

  January, 2022

• IT Manager Staffing Levels Show Volatility

  The ratio of IT managers to total IT staff has been a volatile metric over recent years. In keeping with that trend, this staffing ratio took a jump this compared to last year. Although economic conditions can explain some of the volatility, there are other factors at work. This Research Byte examines possible causes.

  January, 2022

• Cerner Acquisition to Launch Oracle Higher into Healthcare

  Earlier this month, Oracle and Cerner jointly announced an agreement for Oracle to acquire Cerner, a provider of digital systems to healthcare providers. The deal of approximately $28 billion will be the largest in Oracle’s history, nearly three times the size of its PeopleSoft acquisition in 2005. To understand the rationale behind the deal and what it means for the two companies, the industry, and especially for Cerner customers, we interviewed Avasant partners, consultants, and fellows who focus on the healthcare industry.  This research byte summarizes our point of view.

  December, 2021

• Hybrid Work Stimulating Demand for Network Support Personnel

  Although the level of network support staffing plateaued in previous years, there are now signs of resurgence. This is largely the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with remote and hybrid work styles increasing the demand for network support personnel. This Research Byte summarizes the five-year trend in network support staffing ratios.

  December, 2021

• RFID Slowly Gaining Ground but Tagged with Cost Concerns

  Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is gaining ground in certain industry sectors and applications where its benefits are clear. But adoption of the technology has been relatively slow, due to its expensive upfront costs, high number of tags and frequencies, and the difficulty integrating the technology into systems. This Research Byte summarizes the full report, RFID Adoption Trends and Customer Experience.

  December, 2021

• Biggest Salary Increase in a Decade for IT Workers

  It is difficult to overstate the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent social and economic fallout on the labor force. Call it greed. Call it labor finally understanding its value. Call it a response to inflation. Call it whatever you want. The outcome is the same. Workers are demanding higher salaries and more flexible ways of working. This Research Byte summarizes the executive summary of our IT Salary Report 2022.

  December, 2021

• Beefed-Up HCM Systems Helping Companies Address HR Talent Gap

  Business leaders recognize that success depends on recruiting and retaining the best people. But, this puts increasing pressure on HR personnel, who are already stretched with the day-to-day demands of routine HR processes and compliance activities. One solution is cloud-based and AI-enabled HCM systems to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HR personnel. This Research Byte summarizes the full report, HCM Adoption Trends and Customer Experience.

  November, 2021

• Server Support Staffing—Nowhere to Go But Down

  Staffing for server support administrators has been flat since 2019. Going back to 2012, the demand for server support staff had been on a downward trend, as companies were moving more of their workloads into the cloud. We expect the downward trend to return. This Research Byte examines the reasons for the trend and provides a summary of our full report on Server Support Staffing Ratios.

  November, 2021

• Web/E-commerce Staffing Flat Despite Increasing Demand

  Web/e-commerce support staffing has been generally flat as a share of the typical IT staff over the past five years. But the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial increase in digital interactions with customers, partners, and suppliers.

  November, 2021

• IT Security a Never-Ending Arms Race

  With increased threats from within and without, IT organizations would love to have a silver bullet for security. Although there is no silver bullet, there is a growing array of security technology available. No wonder then that IT security technology investment and adoption are both high, and businesses can reap the benefits of protection that the technologies provide. This Research Byte summarizes the full report, IT Security Technology Adoption and Customer Experience.

  November, 2021

• ERP Expands Footprint but Stumbles on ROI

  Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have long been one of the most adopted and mature technologies that we track, and investment in new ERP capabilities remains high. But ERP systems are complicated to deploy, and many organizations have difficulty staying within budget. This Research Byte summarizes our full report on ERP Adoption Trends and Customer Experience.

  August, 2021

• Too Many Companies Use Lax Data Classification Practices

  Creating a formal classification scheme is an important element in managing data for security, disaster recovery, and retention purposes. Yet, many organizations fail to establish this important foundation. This Research Byte summarizes our full report on data classification and retention best practices.

  July, 2021