The eight critical issues holding back IT

The challenges of front line IT have become increasingly complex in recent years thanks to changes in technology, cyber threats and the sheer volume of work.

But what are the biggest challenges that IT teams face? A new survey by network monitoring company Ipswitch set out to find out and reveals the eight most critical issues that are holding IT teams back from achieving their innovation and operational goals.

The survey of 2,685 IT professionals across the globe reveals that their top challenges are seen as:

* Security (25 percent)
* IT infrastructure and application performance monitoring (19 percent)
* New technology, updates and deployment (14 percent)
* Time, budget and resource constraints (10 percent)
* Business issues (seven percent)
* Data management and storage (six percent)
* Device management and end user issues (five percent)
* Automation and reporting (four percent)

It's hardy surprising that security comes out on top, and infrastructure and performance come second, but some support people may raise an eyebrow at end user issues only ranking seventh.

"Behind every business-critical application that serves as the lifeblood of modern commerce, companies rely on IT teams to keep them up and running 24/7," says Jeff Loeb, CMO at Ipswitch. "This survey identifies the key challenges facing IT organizations heading into 2016, and highlights how IT teams are coping with increasing complexity and security threats."

A full copy of the survey results is available from the Ipswitch website. Its major themes will be discussed at the Ipswitch Innovate 2015 Summit, a virtual two day conference to be held on 20 and 21 October.

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