<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1-5.png\")
- \n
- 41.4% of IT professionals spend between 10 – 25% of their yearly budget on licensing fees.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 30.5% of IT professionals spend between 25 – 50% of their yearly budget on licensing fees.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2-5.png\")
Chart 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n IT budget expectations change from year to year, but when you take a deeper look into what that money is being spent on, sometimes it\u2019s easy to see where money is practically being thrown away. Looking into the total cost of ownership (TCO)<\/a> of each product being used can help facilitate this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, by unifying the technology stack<\/a>, money that was once going toward a plethora of software and tools, can be better spent elsewhere, such as on new equipment, salaries or bonuses, better support for the few tools still in use, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remote Work Models More Secure, Easier to Manage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Over the past two years, we have seen \u201cOngoing management of remote workers\u201d become less of a challenge for IT teams, but it\u2019s still a high priority. Going into 2023, about 38% of IT professionals cited this as a top challenge, down about 7% from early 2022.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/3-4.png\")
Chart 3<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n - \n
- Going into 2023, 58% of IT professionals agreed that remote work makes it harder for employees to follow good security practices, which is also down from the previous year, where about three quarters agreed with that statement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/4-4.png\")
Chart 4<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n These decreases tell us that remote work management is improving, along with security practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
User Account Management Decisions <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Only 38% of IT professionals say that all user accounts are centrally managed, with permissions and security measures controlled by IT at all times.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Another 28.5% say that some accounts are centrally managed, with permissions and security measures controlled by IT wherever possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This means that approximately one third or 33.5% of organizations\u2019 accounts remain unmanaged.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/5-4.png\")
Chart 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n When accounts remain unmanaged by IT, users sometimes take it upon themselves to create their own fixes for any issues that arise, resulting in what\u2019s called Shadow IT<\/a>. However, this can be mitigated when IT unifies their tech stack and pulls all users under a single umbrella to be managed and supported in the most efficient way possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Focus on the User Experience <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 84.1% of IT professionals agree or strongly agree that the employee experience<\/a> is an important factor to consider when making IT solutions purchasing decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In 2022<\/a>, we found that 43.7%, on average, employees use 6+ different accounts to do their job.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Only 22.9% of IT professionals said that, on average, employees only use 1-2 passwords to log in to their work resources.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/6-3.png\")
Chart 6<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/7-3.png\")
Chart 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s clearly a sizable opportunity for IT professionals to whittle down the number of necessary employee accounts and credentials needed to access resources, especially when there\u2019s a focus on the overall employee experience. Realizing how disjointed day-to-day activities become when users have to manage a bunch of different accounts can help push IT teams to unify their tech stack to make this possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few ways to do this are via single sign-on<\/a> and a modern password manager<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trust in IT May Help with IT Infrastructure Consolidation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Organizations that prioritize IT end up with better streamlined processes, which make employees\u2019 day-to-day activities more productive, secure, and enjoyable. IT sets the precedent for how other employees get work done. So, by trusting IT with an increased budget and the freedom to unify their tech stack, you can typically expect to see improvements across a variety of areas such as: efficiency, compliance, user experience, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Businesses Are Investing in Support for IT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a correlation between IT budget increases and higher usage of MSPs, so if internal IT teams are investing more of their budget in MSPs, they may need to cut back on other expenses. Bringing an MSP on board is a great opportunity for technology stack unification \u2014 some products may not be needed at all anymore, an MSP may have better tool recommendations, and more time will need to be spent on vendor management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- In 2022, 87.5% of organizations used or considered using an MSP.\n
- \n
- But, going into 2023, 92.6% are currently using or are considering using an MSP.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Of this, 32.9% of organizations use an MSP to support their internal IT team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- And, 41% of organizations use a single MSP to completely manage their IT.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/8-3.png\")
Chart 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n A Renewed Focus on Security in 2023<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
IT professionals are interested in finding a balance between reliable security measures and a streamlined user experience, but world events are putting further pressure on the security front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IT professionals listed their biggest challenges going into 2023:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- As shown in chart 3, security remains a top priority for organizations (52% of IT professionals cited security as their top challenge).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Top Three Security Concerns Overall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- IT professionals\u2019 number one security concern is a network attack (38%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This is followed by fears of software vulnerability exploits (33%),<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- And then ransomware (29%).
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/9-1.png\")
Chart 9<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Need for Balance Between Security and UX<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Although there are sizable concerns around security, many feel that extra security measures hurt the user experience, which makes them second guess this decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 64.7% IT professionals agree that increased security measures are detrimental to the user experience.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/10-1.png\")
Chart 10<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Security Spend Changes Increase Risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Some IT teams are concerned that their organizations will cut cybersecurity spending in 2023, which could pose significant security risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 44% of IT professionals think that their organization will cut their cybersecurity spend in 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- And, 74.7% think that any cuts to cybersecurity spending will increase their organizational risk.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nCharts 11 and 12<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Admins Looking for Best Security Solutions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
IT admins are looking for a balance between having all the tools they need to minimize security risks while also making sure all those tools integrate with one another. And, as counterintuitive as it may sound, adopting more security tools creates more attack vectors for bad actors. The more software you use and vendors you give your information to both add to your overall security risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall Growing Need for Technology Unification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
IT professionals are interested in technology consolidation for a variety of reasons: to improve user management and the user experience, reinforce security, reduce tool sprawl, save budget by doing more with less, and to lessen the resources going toward general IT vendor management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing to keep in mind is identity lifecycle management (ILM) and how much time IT professionals spend on it. When there\u2019s a plethora of ILM tools in the mix, this job gets even more cumbersome, especially in organizations that are short-staffed and burnout is common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Labor Shortages Create a Need for Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Not only are major world events having a significant impact on many organizations, but general labor shortages are causing separate issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 33.7% of IT professionals say that labor shortages have been a significant to serious business limiter throughout 2022 and into 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Only 20.9% of IT professionals stated that labor shortages have had no impact on their organization.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/12-1.png\")
Chart 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The Risk of Tool Creep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Identity lifecycle management is one important part of IT\u2019s role in an organization, but it\u2019s definitely not the only thing IT is expected to do. So, when IT uses multiple tools just for ILM, plus separate tools for other tasks, they can easily end up with excessive tool sprawl that eats up the budget and their sanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Only 13.7% of IT teams use 1-2 tools for identity lifecycle management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 84.9% of IT teams use 3+ tools, ranging all of the way up to 9 or more.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nChart 14<\/sup>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Desire for a Single Tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
While the majority of IT professionals use multiple tools for identity lifecycle management, IT trends show a desire for technology consolidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 73.5% of IT professionals agreed or strongly agreed that they\u2019d prefer a single tool or solution for identity lifecycle management. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/14.png\")
Chart 15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n IT Vendor Management Hurdles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
IT trends going into 2023 also highlight how much time IT professionals spend working with vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 49.6% of IT professionals spend 25% or more of their work hours communicating with vendors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 28.9% of those spend between 25 and 50% of their time communicating with vendors, 14.7% spend between 50 and 75% of their time doing so, and 6% spend more than 75% of their time doing so.
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nChart 16<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n These numbers alone show how much opportunity there is for IT tech unification to give IT professionals a significant chunk of their day back to handle other important tasks. By unifying tech and consolidating IT vendors, IT will have fewer points of contact to deal with on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top Three Reasons Admins Aren\u2019t Pursuing IT Infrastructure Consolidation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Although tech consolidation is highly sought after, it doesn\u2019t always feel possible in every situation. The top three reasons that IT professionals don\u2019t want to consolidate IT products are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 73.5% of IT professionals agreed or strongly agreed that they\u2019d prefer a single tool or solution for identity lifecycle management. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- 64.7% IT professionals agree that increased security measures are detrimental to the user experience.
- As shown in chart 3, security remains a top priority for organizations (52% of IT professionals cited security as their top challenge).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- In 2022<\/a>, we found that 43.7%, on average, employees use 6+ different accounts to do their job.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 84.1% of IT professionals agree or strongly agree that the employee experience<\/a> is an important factor to consider when making IT solutions purchasing decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Going into 2023, 58% of IT professionals agreed that remote work makes it harder for employees to follow good security practices, which is also down from the previous year, where about three quarters agreed with that statement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Over the past two years, we have seen \u201cOngoing management of remote workers\u201d become less of a challenge for IT teams, but it\u2019s still a high priority. Going into 2023, about 38% of IT professionals cited this as a top challenge, down about 7% from early 2022.
![\"Charts](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/oCt3cRB228m6NWESgoYuq1PhK0ncW43OUnc5L-a5guImHdkPRg6AG9Be4l3Jd_F2oPsvLHemLd-8Wimr4tnnUSoLncgrjLVAojizG3pii2ZGXDM9lGbBOnvmZGSY73RFsjjiwoJNWHQcnnHNqtfrS284xGj-1qiF7JY_mvHtKaaTNeZ_HibJ7IE9bSiRJw\")
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/D1OrmB3hCRMRqzQLPuySUr4cNyjx2Xvt5hE2SghxMlYgX_Gn7Xq1BR3UcQA0UJpjXzBQ1Woos-drIJcmRw0tG1CZNQ5FRp3HgirT6XVpHsqEeQBKaH9b9a2UedrUZHwcgPygub_PrPTKhnWtuLTEqVELCG4kF0SILRUq_d_gzi0GXWgnvGlI14MPtwuMKQ\")
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/9cOpyIeCBPiJX-ngEdhqnRKPB7dagF7aVaByZaKyELg_6znzxKlYU9OxO6mHTWQdS4nYpXvhANNdFqXR4fiKh1LoI7F2BppN9pOKnobDfT0EzQTPqIZji5wzBL2l_ebRV2LRav0FmVs4_0_Li3OemP5OiCpxL5OpLqQB_26uJMmmfg5_SBjdHyPvtGfuBg\")
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/16.png\")