75 percent of executives
polled say employees won’t return to the office as they knew it in wake of
COVID-19, 72 percent say rapid shift to remote work is accelerating digital
transformation
The Coronavirus has challenged IT organizations
around the world in ways unimaginable. But new research conducted by Censuswide on behalf
of Citrix Systems, Inc. NASDAQ:CTXS),
shows they are rising to the occasion, accelerating their digital
transformation efforts to accommodate more flexible ways of working they say
employees will demand even after the pandemic subsides. Over three-quarters of
more than 3,700 IT leaders in seven countries surveyed believe a majority of
workers will be reluctant to return to the office as it was. And 62 percent say
they are expediting their move to the cloud as a result.
Testing their Mettle
“COVID-19 has put already stressed IT
teams to the test as mandates designed to slow the spread of the virus have
forced them to deliver digital work environments with unprecedented speed,”
said Meerah Rajavel, Chief Information Officer, Citrix. “But as the results of
our latest research reveal, they have responded and are stepping up their
efforts to accommodate flexible models that will drive work for the foreseeable
future.”
Flexing their Muscle
Over
two-thirds of the IT decision makers polled by Censuswide (69 percent) say that
it has been surprisingly easy for the majority of their employees to work from
home, and 71 percent say that the technology they have put in place has enabled
them to collaborate just as effectively as they can face-to-face. In light of
this, they are revving up their digital engines and implementing solutions to
support remote work for the long haul.
- 62 percent of IT leaders say their
departments are considering downsizing physical IT infrastructure and
transitioning to a cloud model
- 42 percent anticipate introducing
digital workspace platforms
- 44 percent are looking to public
cloud services to facilitate long-term remote working
The
road to widespread remote work has not been easy. Almost half (48 percent) of the
IT leaders who participated in the Censuswide survey say their organizations
did not have a business continuity plan based on the vast majority of employees
working from home, and 61 percent found it challenging* to make the switch.
In
addition, the fast and widespread adoption of remote work has opened a new set
of concerns and challenges with which they must deal:
- 70 percent of IT leaders are worried
about information security as a result of employees working-from-home
- 54 percent say there’s been a spike
in employees installing unsanctioned software.
- 23 percent say that unscheduled virtual personal network (VPN)
shutdowns have been a key problem for their department over the last few
weeks.
Taking a Toll
All
of this has taken a toll on IT teams, with over three-quarters (77 percent)
reporting high stress levels. But there is a silver lining.
“This crisis has thrust IT teams – often the ‘unsung heroes’
of a business – into the limelight like never before,” Rajavel said. “They have worked to deliver secure, reliable work
environments that are keeping employees engaged and productive and business
moving in extremely challenging times. And in doing so, they will emerge from
the crisis more strategic and valued by their organizations than they were
going in.”
More than three-quarters of the IT leaders polled (77
percent) share this sentiment and say that IT is currently seen as “business
critical to their organization,” while
55 percent believe that their new job title should be “working from home
warrior” or “corporate savior.”
*
“Challenging” to mean ‘Presenting some challenges’, ‘reasonably challenging’,
or ‘extremely challenging’