Cisco has released the findings of its 2013 survey which was designed to understand the role of IT as a business enabler.
IT and the network are increasingly being recognised as key business enablers, with 71% of participants reporting that the number of applications being deployed is increasing and 78% that the network is more critical in the delivery of those applications. This appears to show an agreement by both IT and the rest of the business that the network plays an increasingly essential role.
Its key findings include:
- 71% are deploying more applications than a year ago
- IT and the network are increasingly recognised as key business enablers
- 76% claim applications are rolled out without engaging IT
- 27% say visibility of their IT department is like a foggy day in London
- Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Internet of Things (IoT) are poised to challenge the network
- 18% would rather break out of prison or train for a triathlon than ask for more budget
However, while there does seem to be more alignment between IT leaders and their senior line of business counterparts, 76% of participants still say applications are being rolled out without IT engagement, and 27% say the visibility of their IT department is poor – a bit like a foggy day in London. At least they said “fog” not “smog”!
When new applications are rolled out, the main reasons for delay are budget, data centre infrastructure readiness, cloud readiness and network limitations such as bandwidth.
SDN and IoT are expected to challenge the network: 71% expect to deploy SDN solutions over the coming year to achieve cost savings and fast scalability of infrastructure, and half think IoT will open up new business opportunities.
You can view the full report on the Cisco website.
