IT Trends Report-The THWACK Global View
I don’t have to introduce you to the SolarWinds® IT Trends Report, and I’m sure you’ve already seen this year's IT Trends Report theme: Building a Secure Future.
But let me take a wild guess: if you’re located in the U.S., you changed the region to North America, and if you’re from the U.K., you chose U.K.
So let’s take a look at the numbers from a global point of view and point out where we saw the biggest regional differences. I’ll also make some wild guesses about why those differences exist!
First things first, let me straighten my black tie for an excerpt from our official press announcement to set the scene:
The findings of this year’s global report are based on a survey fielded in March/April 2021, which yielded responses from 967 technology practitioners, managers, directors, and senior executives worldwide from public and private sector small, mid-size, and enterprise organizations. The regions studied in 2021, as reported on the SolarWinds IT Trends Index, included North America, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, with 967 respondents across all geographies combined.
State of Risk
Globally, 39% of tech pro respondents stated their organization has had medium exposure to IT risk. This number is lowest in Hong Kong and highest in the U.S., but overall, there’s little deviation.
But the understanding of the root causes of attacks show major differences. The global number points to external security threats with 46%, but there’s a massive gap between Germany with 16% and the U.S. with 76%.
So what’s the story with my fellow Germans? Internal trust issues? Do the CEOs (actually, in German, they’re called “Vorstandsvorsitzende”—try to pronounce that now) suspect each new hire right from the start? Now I’m concerned, as I’m located in Berlin!
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic varies between regions, too, but remote work policies, the exponential growth of data based on people working from home, and the distributed workforce were seen as the top three vulnerabilities. But there are some regional differences—for example, Singapore and Australia point out problems with securing digital transformation, and responses from the U.K. report security breaches/hacks.
But guess what? The Germans were the only ones to list “loss of control over data,” and it’s actually the second position. There are definitely some ongoing trust issues.
Risk Mitigation
When it comes to risk mitigation, the results are similar in each region. Fifty percent of the respondents said security and compliance ranked in the top three technologies most critical to managing/mitigating risk within their organizations, followed by network infrastructure (38%) and automation (25%).
In the U.K., they consider automation last year’s tech and are looking into artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), while in the U.S., we found IT service management (ITSM) in position number three. ITSM? I mean, sure, it’s required to keep things rolling, but for risk mitigation? Sounds like the participants feel a little unorganized. Later on, “shifting or unclear priorities” are mentioned as a challenge, which could prove my assumption: there’s chaos.
But the answers from Australia were astounding, as they saw the cloud as critical tech for risk mitigation. Most folks consider the cloud as just another risk, a layer adding complexity.
But everything is upside-down in Australia anyway, isn’t it?
Eighty-one percent of tech pro respondents “agree” or “strongly agree” their IT organizations are prepared to manage, mitigate, and resolve risk factor-related issues due to the policies and/or procedures they already have in place, and this is plus or minus 10% globally. I find this a bit optimistic, to be honest. It could also be a risk, as it might give IT pros a false feeling of security, which can make them less alert.
The shifting demands and priorities based on the pandemic have had an obvious impact on various IT policies. We asked if standard risk management policies have been followed, and the global number was 51%, which means almost half of the organizations had to bend or stretch their rules to ensure workforce mobility. This isn’t too bad, considering there wasn’t much time for proper planning. In Germany, only 38% managed to stay within their policies, probably because there are too many rules anyway. In Japan, the same number was 69%. How is this possible? Great contingency plans in the drawer, maybe? Sounds like a job well done to me.
Tech Investments
Another interesting question was about focus areas. We wanted to see not just the priority of future investments but the challenges and how companies plan to overcome them. IT teams prioritised investment in security and compliance (36%) and network infrastructure (33%), followed by cloud computing (27%).
As expected, there are two evergreens in the challenges: the lack of budget/resources (45%) and the lack of training for personnel (45%), which was mentioned in each(!) region. The third position, with 38%, was unclear or shifting priorities, which is most likely based on the uncertainty about whether employees will keep working remotely or another virus mutation will require them to change plans again.
Some regions reported their current tool set is no longer suitable or lacks features. (Well, hello, we can help.) Oh, and Germany and the U.K. reported poor management!
Tech pros are overcoming these barriers by prioritizing development of policies and processes (36%) and the introduction of new technologies to the environment, such as multi-factor authentication and/or additional/new monitoring (34%). They’re also seeking opportunities for training in the U.K. and Singapore, and I’m surprised these are the only ones mentioning it, considering everyone complains about the lack thereof.
And there goes Germany, being oh so special again: “Revisiting previous system to improve shortcomings”—probably to save money—and, oh this is nice: “improve alignment between IT and corporate leadership.” Because, you know, poor management.
Looking Ahead
Fifty-nine percent of the respondents are confident their IT organizations will continue to invest in risk management/mitigation technologies over the next three years, and this number is higher than 50% in every region.
Another interesting question was about the buy-in of senior leadership. This group has different interests, which are usually centred around increasing productivity and lowering overall costs (or both). Asking for a budget increase can often change an open-door policy to a closed one. And if you meet a senior leader in the elevator, all you hear is, “That’s interesting, but could you email it to me please? I’m really in a rush right now.” Which means… ah, you know what it means.
The good news is 58% of tech pro respondents perceive their organizations' senior leaders or decision-makers to have a heightened awareness of risk exposure, believing it’s not “if” but “when” they’ll be impacted by a risk factor. But while 31% believe their organization is prepared to mitigate and manage risk, 27% said their senior leaders have difficulty convincing other leaders of this reality, ultimately limiting resources to address risk. These numbers are close to each other everywhere.
But What About Future Collaboration?
One-third (33%) of the tech pro respondents stated their IT organizations are improving alignment between IT business goals and corporate leadership in response to other tech adoption barriers, such as a lack of skilled IT staff triggered by cost-cutting, consolidation, or outdated skill sets and a lack of available IT management tools. This isn’t a very high number, but “improving” means “work in progress,” so we can hope the alignment of business needs and tech adoption will increase.
Again, we see the greatest divide between Germany, with only 17% (poor management, I’m still laughing), and the U.S. with 48%. But it’s a cultural thing, too, as here in Germany, we tend to say, “That’s not my/someone else’s problem.” Unfortunately, this stops or at least slows down many things. In the U.S., people seem to be more willing working together toward a goal, and they seem to have more trust in visions.
But it’s a necessity for all IT teams to work more closely with their management, considering how the role and importance of IT has changed over time. In the past, IT just supported the business—nowadays, it runs the business. And while IT teams are aware of it, the corporate leadership still needs to be convinced.
I suggest having an IT forecast report with numbers and beautiful charts with you each time you enter the elevator. And maybe some sticky tape.
Take care!