Partner Article

What Keeps IT Leaders Up At Night? Data Privacy, Customer Experience and the State of Technology Amongst Top Concerns.

From customer experience and engagement to data privacy and the pressure to constantly adopt new technology, IT leaders have a lot to worry about. The 2018 Insight Intelligent Technology™ Index reveals that 79 percent of IT leaders believe the reason IT is being set up to fail, is because of competing demands from different lines of business, as well as a lack of resources to effectively support the organisation. Insight’s research uncovers the top three concerns that are keeping IT leaders up at night.

1. Data privacy The top headache amongst IT leaders was data privacy, with 94 percent admitting they were concerned about it. But how can they address this concern? It was found that just 24 percent use a bimodal IT talent approach, with one group focused on predictability and operations, while another IT Team focused on innovation.

Allocating resource in this way could be the answer to ensuring data privacy is maintained. One group focused on ensuring operational excellence and an innovation group examining new ways technology could be used to enhance security – for example, strategies for engaging employees in the day-by-day effort to correctly store and protect data.

2. Customer experience Improving customer experience came in a close second (87 percent), and a further 84 percent highlighted the need to provide consistent customer engagement as vital to addressing this. The research also highlights an opportunity to create better connections with lines of business, particularly the marketing department who place customer relationships at the heart of everything they do. Despite these concerns over providing a good customer experience are prevalent, just 10 percent of IT leaders said marketing influences technology decisions in their company.

3. State of technology The state of their current technology, and having the ability to adopt new technology were each prime concerns for 7-in-10 IT leaders. This has implications across the business in terms of being as productive as possible, driving efficiencies and driving innovation, but also in being an attractive employer. With 77 percent of IT leaders concerned about talent retention and attraction, offering the best technology to existing and prospective employees is a powerful means of keeping them happy and feeling like they have the right tools to get their job done.

Lal Hussain, Director of IT Applications at Insight UK: “IT is now taking on a central strategic role that touches every facet of the business. With data breaches making daily news headlines, increasing customer demands and the consumerisation of IT, IT leaders have more responsibility than ever before. That’s why working with a trusted partner who understand these pressures, as well as the technological capabilities, regulations and budget restrictions faced by organisations today is so important. By working in collaboration with the right partners, IT leaders can ensure they develop an overall strategy with cross-departmental solutions that meet their business needs and customers’ expectations.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lal Hussain .