Cisco releases "IT Operations Readiness Index" prediction: More CIOs are willing to adopt analytics and automation technologies, and the way IT operations will undergo a major change

Recently, Cisco announced the launch of a new IT Operations Readiness Index, which aims to reveal how data is transforming the way enterprises operate IT. The index report is based on a survey of more than 1,500 senior IT leaders around the world. The purpose is to understand the stage of organizations in the IT operations transformation process, revealing a four-stage model of IT operations readiness, focusing on how organizations deal with the events they face.

“As infrastructure complexity continues to grow, IT leaders can no longer rely on monthly reports and heavy manual operational tasks to deliver results as they did in the past,” said Joseph Bradley, global vice president of Cisco’s Internet of Things, Blockchain Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Business Incubation business. “Driven by data and supported by automation technology, IT can achieve real-time operations, gain predictive capabilities, and truly play its role based on detailed data to create strategic value for the organization and customers.”

Brief Introduction to IT Operations Readiness Index Research

Today, IT departments spend approximately 78% of their budgets on “keeping the lights on,” leaving little for innovation. However, some organizations are reallocating budgets to prioritize transformational projects and move to higher levels in the IT operations maturity model.

First, IT must understand where the organization is in the four-stage IT operations maturity model and where it wants to be in two years:

More mature organizations say they collect data from more areas of their infrastructure, apply more analytics, and use automation more extensively. To achieve "forward-looking" capabilities, organizations must become more data-driven, using data indicators to predict events (such as network outages) and automation to enable continuous changes and maintain optimal operations.

“As organizations move to higher levels in this model, they use data to predict the future,” notes Joseph Bradley. “Through analytics and automation, CIOs can continuously monitor and optimize their infrastructure based on predictions of future needs, rather than reacting to events, such as a network outage. As a result, they can deliver strategic outcomes to business partners, moving from panic to control.”

Key findings from the IT Operations Readiness Index study:

Operations have become a strategic focus for business success

• 28% of respondents are spending their IT budget on optimizing and remediating IT operations, and 68% expect to increase this budget in the next 12 months.
• 40% of respondents said they rely “highly” on IT operational data to make business decisions.

Investment in operations delivers customer benefits and value to the business

• 88% of IT leaders surveyed said their investments in IT operations over the past 12 months have improved external customer satisfaction, and 89% said their internal innovation capabilities have improved.

The journey to a “forward-looking” model has just begun

• Only 14% of respondents have reached the top level of IT operations capability, which we call “proactive.” 26% are still at the top level, responding to IT events as they occur (“reactive” operations). And 33% expect to reach the “proactive” level of operations capability within two years.
• Organizations with the highest level of “forward-looking” operational capabilities are twice as likely to perform continuous automation and 50% more likely to perform automated data collection across the organization.
• Only 26% of respondents said they collect data continuously; 17% are able to use real-time, automated analysis techniques. Most activities are still performed periodically.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) + Talent = Success

• 42% of respondents said AI is the emerging technology that will have the greatest impact on their automation capabilities, and 51% said they are currently using AI to improve automation capabilities to some extent.
• 70% of enterprises now have a Chief Data Officer, a role that is critical to orchestrating the use of insights to drive business and improve IT operations. The average number of data scientists employed by enterprises is more than 40.

External suppliers are important data sources

• 84% of respondents said it is imperative to obtain data other than what is collected internally. Organizations with the highest level of "forward-looking" operational capabilities are already using external vendor services for more operational activities (such as data aggregation); vendors will also become an important source of data.

Security is the most data-driven area of ​​infrastructure

• 82% of respondents already collect operational and performance data in their security infrastructure, the highest percentage of all IT areas. Security is the clearest use case for gaining real-time insight and control, and is a “top priority” for investing in data-driven operations.

IoT is the interconnection from IT to the business edge

• Today, 74% of “forward-thinking” organizations collect data from the Internet of Things, compared to 59% of “reactive” organizations. 77% of organizations believe that the Internet of Things is important for improving the efficiency of IT infrastructure operations.

When IT operations have the right data, the ability to extract the right insights from that data, and the ability to automate operational tasks in their infrastructure, they have the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. Today, CIOs must focus on innovation in the IT operations space.

As Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research puts it, “In the future, the most successful companies will have: the highest quality data, AI algorithms to interpret that data, and a Chief Data Officer (CDO) who can ensure quality and consistency.”