IT Will Have a Big Impact on Business Decisions

ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation, today released findings of its comprehensive global study, IT at work: 2022 and beyond. The study explored in depth the evolving role of IT in the digitally transformed ecosystem.

IT is positioned to have a greater role in defining business strategy in the next five years. More than eight in ten (82%) IT decision-makers (ITDMs) in Malaysia believe that IT will have a prominent influence in setting business strategy—much higher than the global average (65%), implying that ITDMs in Malaysia are bullish regarding IT’s dominance.

The research also indicated conflicting trends. Despite the involvement of IT in decision-making and the expectation that IT should prevent cyberattacks, only a quarter of business decision-makers (BDMs) believe IT has complete authority to prevent decisions based on technical and security concerns.

The survey revealed that most decision-makers consider the IT department responsible for protecting the organisation against cyberattacks. A little over a quarter (26%) of decision makers say third-party security specialists are responsible for protecting their business from cyberattacks, meaning the onus of this responsibility falls on internal IT departments.

Business Decisions in IT Industry

However, Malaysia is the only region in which the chief IT officer is likely to assume more responsibility for security (62%) rather than IT and security teams (54%).

A growing emphasis on digital value creation means IT professionals are expected to be innovators, with 83% of respondents saying IT plays a prominent role in driving business innovation. Additionally, 54% of ITDMs agreed that IT will need to support other departments so that they can be proactive and innovative.

“The real impact will be visible through a cultural shift that promotes technological understanding, collaboration and engagement,” says Gibu Mathew, vice president and general manager, APAC, ManageEngine. “Technological innovation powered by agility, expertise and strong vision can unlock the true potential of the IT departments and can facilitate the path to innovation and transformation.”

ManageEngine commissioned Vanson Bourne, an independent research agency, to survey 150 ITDMs and BDMs from multiple Malaysian organizations on topics such as the role of IT, artificial intelligence, sustainability and cybersecurity. It highlighted key dimensions requiring immediate attention from decision-makers along with the challenges that will arise from the redefined role of IT. The report will enable key stakeholders to take a conscious and holistic approach towards reimagining an organization where IT lies at the core of every strategic initiative.

The IT Factor in Business

Top highlights

• According to the majority of ITDMs (75%), their organisations have already successfully decentralised their IT structures, with the vast majority of the remaining ITDMs’ (22%) organisations currently attempting to do so.
• The majority of decision-makers believe that if their organisation decentralises its IT function, there will be more opportunity to influence C-level decisions (54%), the importance of IT’s role in the business will become more recognised or acknowledged (49%) or there will be professional growth through upskilling (46%) as a result.
• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents agree that their organisation “encourages non-IT employees to develop their own applications using low/no code platforms.” According to 85% of respondents, the highest percentage of all countries, IT is the department most likely to be developing these application types.

• Nearly all (98%) BDMs have invested in AI and ML, and are doing so for more than one use case, on average. Automation is unsurprisingly one of the most highly reported areas (60%), but a similar number (61%) report using AI to prevent cyberattacks.
• When it comes to what ITDMs want from their role in the next five years, the potential to learn new skills (48%) is most likely to be important, with nearly as many (45%) desiring more collaboration with teams across the business.