Hybrid infrastructure solutions provider INAP has released the results of its annual State of IT Infrastructure Management survey. INAP asked 500 IT infrastructure managers and senior technology leaders how the pandemic has impacted their organizations’ current and future plans.
Acceleration of cloud and colocation migrations
The report showed a significant acceleration of cloud and colocation migrations, with 54 percent stating the pandemic has motivated their organization to move applications and workloads off-premise. In addition to this, the primary challenge for 2021 is to adapt infrastructure and networking strategies for remote work or returns to the office, according to IT leaders.
Michael Sicoli, President and CEO of INAP, said,
“At every level of the economy and society, IT infrastructure and the professionals tasked with operating it are keeping the world moving in 2020. The results of our survey indicate that the hybrid infrastructure future is becoming a reality a lot sooner for many organizations. As we enter 2021, the technology challenges presented by remote work and accelerated digital transformation initiatives will remain at the forefront for IT infrastructure managers, and as a result, technology professionals have solidified their position as an essential workforce.”
Despite heightened pressure, there are some positive impacts on IT roles and departments that IT pros reported. Sixty percent believe their organizations will likely be investing more in IT infrastructure as a result of the pandemic, and 62 percent feel more essential and recognized for their critical roles throughout the tumultuous year.
Additional findings
An equal amount (53 percent) say that their organizations are migrating to colocation and hyper-scale public cloud environments, with 50 percent also turning to hosted private cloud solutions. Security is top of mind for organizations evaluating infrastructure solution providers. One in three (35 percent) say that network, OS, and data security are the most critical qualities they look for in an infrastructure solution.
Further, more than half (51 percent) of companies are considering virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions to better support a lasting remote work environment. IT teams need to be prepared for sudden shifts to or from the office. They should also modify network strategies for the return to an office (or staying permanently remote) and setting up help desk support.
Despite the negative effects, optimism among IT teams has remained relatively strong. Only three in 10 cite budget or headcount restraints as a top challenge for their team, and six in 10 believe their companies will be investing more into IT infrastructure as the pandemic subsides.
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