* Symantec poll shows IT executives faced with shrinking budgets, less staff and delayed projects consider endpoint virtualization a potential problem-solver
As if managing complex environments wasn’t difficult enough, IT executives today must do so with less staff and cash. With this in mind, Symantec polled 300 network administrators to get a better gauge on what worries them in regards to managing IT, specifically distributed endpoints, in a down economy.
The results showed that a majority are faced with providing more services with the same or less cash than they did in previous years. For instance, 62% of those responding to Symantec’s poll reported that their IT budgets will either remain stagnant or reduce in 2009. For about two-thirds of those surveyed IT staff is either stuck at the status quo or it will be reduced in the coming months. More than 40% admitted to being concerned about job security, and others fear fewer staff (39%) due to reduced headcount and lack of up-to-date equipment (38%) will make their jobs more challenging in 2009.
Specifically, IT managers are facing less investment in new technology, according to 44% of respondents. More than 40% have to face critical IT issues with less staff, and 38% reported their efforts to upgrade IT management software will be delayed in 2009. Close to 40% also expect to experience a day in the migration of new hardware.
When asked what might help them better weather the economic storm, a majority mentioned automation and management technologies. For instance, 47% said the ability to automate common tasks and 43% indicated that tools to maximize uptime might help in the face of fewer staff resources. And more than 70% said the ability to automate tasks would help their schedules. Others (42%) mentioned implementing remote diagnostic tools to fill the void and some (40%) said they could imagine improving user productivity via virtualization technology.
As for plans when the economy picks up, several network administrators (39%) surveyed indicated that endpoint virtualization could increase productivity. Another 27% said they believed that endpoint virtualization could decrease complexity, while nearly 40% thought the technology might decrease costs. According to the Symantec survey, nearly three-quarters of the network administrators polled are “at least considering plans to implement endpoint virtualization.”
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