Demands on IT teams 'inhibiting' innovation - Insight report

Research finds 79 per cent of IT decision makers are struggling to make their resources stretch far enough

Business leaders are thrusting more duties onto their IT teams but not providing sufficient resources for them to carry out operations, according to research conducted by Insight.

Over half of IT decision makers surveyed believe that their departments are struggling to adapt to expanding roles and responsibilities placed on them by organisation heads.

Insight's Intelligent Technology Index surveyed 200 IT professionals who work in organisations with between one and 1,000 employees.

Emma de Sousa, UK MD, said: "Organisations have become acutely aware of the critical role technology now plays in overall business strategy, from enabling a more productive and connected workforce to increasing market share and customer loyalty.

"The Insight Intelligent Technology Index signifies how competing demands on IT are inhibiting their ability to plan and innovate."

Business leaders were not providing sufficient infrastructure, budget or clear road maps to their IT teams in order to manage increasingly complex challenges, the report claimed.

Competing demands and lack of resources to effectively support the organisation were a major issue for 79 per cent of respondents, it added.

Meanwhile, 33 per cent of those surveyed stated that existing business operations were not evolving to allow them to fulfil the requests made of them to support innovation.

A third of IT professionals surveyed said they lacked clearly defined roles and responsibilities in the organisation.

"While we have been talking about the growing need for IT to both manage daily operations and be a strategic partner for transformation, many companies still have a long way to go when it comes to levelling the divide and creating a competitive advantage through innovation," said de Sousa.

"The Index results suggest more businesses are putting an emphasis on managed services to get there. If this happens, the look and feel of IT departments will change dramatically and businesses will start to see even greater IT-driven business outcomes."

Respondents to Insight's survey had to be responsible for at least two of the following areas: management and supervision of IT systems, determining IT needs for their company, and approving or selecting IT consultants.