In the wake of the pandemic, there have been seismic shifts in how employees interact with IT tools and teams. According to a recent IT at Work: 2022 and Beyond study, there is now more collaboration between non-IT employees and IT personnel, and decentralized IT is driving this collaboration.
The study surveyed 3,300 IT and business decision-makers from across the globe – 500 of which were from North America. The results were intriguing. Below are a few takeaways.
There has been more collaboration between business departments and IT personnel, and there’s more IT knowledge across the board.
The majority (82%) of IT decision-makers (ITDMs) and business decision-makers (BDMs) believe that collaboration between IT and other departments has increased over the last two years. When asked which department they were most likely to collaborate with, 37% of North American business decision-makers chose the IT department.
This increased collaboration has led to more innovation and IT knowledge across the board. Most (76%) decision-makers – ITDMs and BDMs alike – agree that non-IT employees know more about IT than they did two years ago. Even more staggering, 88% of all respondents said that IT is more responsible for business innovation than ever before.
This increase in collaboration is due, in part, to a rise in decentralized IT.
Although decentralization is occurring across the globe, it is particularly prevalent in North America, where 74% of ITDMs have decentralized their IT structure. Despite this rise in decentralization, most ITDMs are wary to decentralize too much further; in fact, nearly all (99%) of ITDMs believe their companies will encounter problems if they continue to decentralize.
It is worth noting that IT democratization – how non-IT personnel oversee their own software choices and technology operations – is also on the rise. Increasingly more employees are deciding for themselves how their technologies will be chosen, deployed, and used. Given this rise in IT democratization, it’s perhaps unsurprising that there’s been an increase in the use of low- and no-code solutions. The vast majority (76%) of North American decision-makers said they encourage their non-IT personnel to use low- and no-code platforms to develop their own tools.
Despite the increased collaboration between IT and non-IT employees, not all IT personnel are happy in their current role.
Not all North American IT leaders are satisfied with their current job.
The IT sector is apparently not impervious to the Great Resignation, as 58% of North American IT decision-makers said they are actively looking for a new job. Other than one other region, Spain, the North America respondents were the most likely to say they were looking for new work. Without a doubt, there are many factors at play; however, it is notable that 81% of ITDMs said they should have been more supported since the start of the pandemic.
It is troubling that so many IT leaders are looking for new jobs, especially considering that IT personnel ostensibly are valued quite highly; after all, nearly all (89%) decision-makers recognize that their organization’s success is dependent upon the success of the IT teams.
The prevalence of remote work likely explains this IT decentralization phenomenon. Moreover, the rise in decentralized IT has, in turn, seemingly fueled collaboration between IT personnel and business decision-makers as well.
IT democratization is occurring concurrently with IT decentralization. More and more employees of all stripes are using low- and no-code platforms, building out their own tools, and making their own decisions as to which solutions to use. It is critical that IT personnel continue to collaborate with these non-IT employees, ensuring that all new tools are safe, secure, and beneficial to the overall business initiatives.
As a caveat, it is worth noting that IT personnel are highly valued – and 57% of all decision-makers believe that IT’s role will continue to be appreciated. Nevertheless, many IT leaders are looking for new opportunities, so business leaders should address their concerns. After all, it’s hard to overstate how vital IT personnel are to our organizations.