IT Expense and Asset Automation Key to Navigating Economic Turbulence According to New Study From Tangoe

Clearer Visibility Across Network, Cloud, and Mobile Assets Can Produce Smarter Decision-Making; Help Overcome Speed Bumps

With the threat of a recession looming, a new study commissioned by Tangoe, Inc., the leading technology expense and asset management solution for more than 20 years, finds that nearly all (92%) of IT leaders are concerned with the potential impact on their budgets and headcounts just as 83% report growing pressure to deliver more with less.

“With cost-cutting measures well underway across organizations of all sizes, having smarter data insights can be helpful in guiding better decision-making and superior optimization,” said James Parker, CEO, Tangoe. “Already short-staffed IT teams should be employing more artificial intelligence to automate and understand the expenses – and sprawling network, cloud, and mobile assets – across their hybrid workforces. Getting beneath the surface can uncover new opportunities for cost savings before even considering layoffs.”

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The survey – conducted in partnership with leading independent technology market research firm Vanson Bourne and featuring insights from 500 IT leaders at mid-sized to enterprise-level businesses ($500M-$50B+ in annual revenue) across the US and UK – also found that:

• IT teams are being bogged down by manual processes: Nearly all respondents (94%) reported a notable amount of time of their average working week is dedicated to activities related to telecom, cloud, and mobility assets, including nearly a third of their week (29%) being allocated specifically to manual processes relating to these expenses and assets. This led to more than eight in ten (85%) reporting that eliminating manual processes would allow IT to focus on more purposeful work.
• Organizations feel stuck in the cycle of embedded internal processes: More than half of those surveyed report choosing to have at least some in-house management of their mobile, telecom and cloud software services (56%, 51%, and 51%, respectively), but almost nine in ten (88%) admit that their organization would benefit from greater support with managing such expenses. For organizations that manage these expenses completely in-house, those that report there would be benefits from working with external vendors notably increase (88% for telecom, 82% for cloud, and 77% for mobile).
• There are no signs of slowing for IT teams: Budgets allocated to cloud, mobile and telecom are expected to increase by an average of 10-12% over the next couple of years, showing the continued growth and importance of these software and services. Mobile device count (78%) and usage (83%) are also expected to increase; greater use comes with more management, making it even more important that organizations approach this in the right way.

Parker continued: “Our research found that only companies who rely on a partner to simplify, manage, and optimize their assets and expenses are realizing the value. Working together with our clients, we are helping them make the most informed choices to ride current and future economic waves with finesse. Layoffs can be a last resort for cost-cutting, and then only after assessing the true costs of running today’s tech-enabled business.”

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As businesses look to simplify, manage, and optimize their IT operations and spend, nearly all (99%) organizations recognize benefits from outsourcing telecom, cloud and mobile software and services. Furthermore, more than nine in 10 respondents that work with external vendors for mobile, cloud, and telecom management report seeing a clear, positive return on investment (95%, 92% and 91%, respectively).