Survey: Premier 100 Leaders Weigh In on the Industry's Hot Topics
March 8, 2004 12:00 PM ET
Computerworld - In an exclusive Computerworld survey, this year's Premier 100 IT Leaders and conference attendees from IT user companies offered their opinions on the hot issues in the industry. Questions covered a range of topics, including offshore outsourcing, security and regulatory compliance.
The results follow. Note that the respondent base for all questions is 159, unless otherwise noted.
The Future of IT
A majority said they are optimistic about the future of IT as a strategic contributor to business success:
73% reported being very optimistic
25% said they are somewhat optimistic
2% said they aren't at all optimistic
Utility and On-Demand Computing When asked if they are considering utility or on-demand computing: 11% said they had implemented some aspects of it
33% said they are evaluating it but have made no decision
29% reported that they aren't considering implementing it because they don't have applications suited for a utility model
23% reported that they weren't considering it because there are too many uncertainties
4% reported that they plan to switch to a utility model for some or all applications in the next 12 months
When asked about the impact of utility or on-demand computing on their organization*: 28% reported that it will have no impact
25% said it will cut operational costs
25% said it will reduce capital expenses
14% said it will cut staffing needs and costs
9% said it will increase their budgets
*Respondents could choose all that apply
Web Services When asked what is impeding their companies' adoption of Web services: 25% said security is the greatest obstacle
22% cited lack of in-house skills to support the technology
22% said product immaturity is the greatest obstacle
12% cited a lack of standards
8% said cost is the greatest obstacle
3% said there are no obstacles
3% indicated infrastructure-architecture issues
5% cited a variety of other obstacles
Base: 153 respondents
Security The security issues that cause their companies the greatest expense or potential for business disruption are: Viruses, worms and "zero-day" attacks:
57% Patch management:
24% Spam:
10% Network intrusions or application layer attacks:
8% Other:
1%
Base: 158 respondents In the past year, the percentage of their IT budgets spent on security: Increased:
82% Remained the same:
18% Less than
1% of respondents said the percentage of their IT budget decreased.
Base: 158 respondents
Open-source When asked about their plans for Linux in 2004: 34% said they are increasing Linux use with current or additional applications
31% said they don't use Linux and have no plans to do so
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