Security, Automation, and Cloud Top Midrange IT Priorities, Study Says

August 3, 2022 Alex Woodie

Improving cybersecurity continues to be the number one overall priority for IT teams at midsize companies going into the second half of the year, but automation and cloud migrations are not too far behind, according to a recent study from Kaseya. Legacy concerns also are viewed as a drag on productivity.

Kaseya last month published its 2022 IT Operations Report, in which it surveyed 1,877 IT professionals from around the world in April to learn about the top priorities and challenges where they work. The company surveyed only employees at organizations with fewer than 3,000 employees, which is Kaseya’s cut-off for the midsize customer that it aims to serve.

The top priority in the survey was improving IT security overall, which was identified by 52 percent of the survey-takers as their top priority. That was followed by increasing IT productivity through automation with a 33 percent share, and migrating to the cloud at 32 percent (survey-takers were allowed to select multiple items, which results in the figures not adding up to 100).

The IT management and security software provider also queried users about the challenges faced by IT shops. Cybersecurity and data protection was identified as the top challenge by 49 percent of the survey-takers, while insufficient IT budgets and resources to meet demands was number two at 29 percent, and legacy systems that hamper growth and innovation came in third at 21 percent.

Security and data protection is the number one concern of midsize IT shops in Kaseya’s 2022 IT Operations Study.

Budgets for IT security projects will go up at 53 percent of the organizations it surveyed, according to Kaseya, which is a strong indicator that security continues to be a priority. “As we anticipated, cybersecurity and safeguarding data continues to be the number one challenge for IT professionals” Kaseya Chief Strategy Officer Mike Puglia stated in a press release.

While Kaseya doesn’t target the IBM i customer base, the company’s report echoes the findings of surveys in the IBM i community, which find that security continues to be a strong priority in the midrange. For instance, security was identified as the top priority in HelpSystems’ 2022 Marketplace Survey, the fifth straight year that security held that position.

Kaseya’s survey also found that 48 percent of respondents are planning to invest in automation technologies in 2023, while 40 percent stated their intent to update “outdated IT infrastructure” this year, according to Kaseya.

“Automating repetitive, everyday tasks helps organizations reduce operating costs by allowing a smaller team of technicians to manage a larger IT environment with fewer resources,” the company states in its report. “The result is a higher endpoint-to-technician ratio.”

The ability for tools to integrate with other tools is also increasingly an important factor in buying decisions. According to Kaseya’s survey, 30 percent of respondents stated that integration was a critical factor, after price (cited by 55 percent respondents) and functionality (cited by 50 percent).

You can download Kaseya’s complete 2022 IT Operations Report here.

RELATED STORIES

Glimpsing Hope in the IBM i Security Situation

Security Again Top Concern in HelpSystems Marketplace Study

Security Threats, They Are a Changin’

One IBM i Shop’s Close Call With Ransomware

‘Alarming’ Security Gaps Exposed in IBM i Marketplace Report