Special report: Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

How IT professionals
rule their empires

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

When it comes to a day in the life

of an IT professional, the pace is fast
and the pressure is on.

Eaton is a power management company that gets IT.

We design every one of our power-protection

solutions to deliver superior flexibility, maximum
efficiency and unprecedented reliability. No matter
what environment you need to protect or manage, we
have reliable solutions to keep you up and running
and nightmare-free.

Switch
2

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

We collected and compiled the

findings from My IT Empire,
Eatons infographic creator, that
ran from October 12, 2014 to
December 8, 2014.
The findings are based on the 4,129
infographics built by IT professionals
during that time.

IT pros received customized infographics

just like the one above.

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

Gender
T WO S ETS O F E YES,
T WO REPORTS.
THIS S HOULD O NLY
TAKE A S ECOND.

Female

30%

Male

70%

Its true.

While you can get the full report

here, Eaton is also featuring
female-only responses in:
A closer look: How women rule
their IT empires

Switch
4

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

Define your work environment

When given these
3 choices:

Industrial

22%

I WORK
FOR A H IP
STARTUP
TOO.

Hip startup

40%

Cube farm

38%

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

The top 10 answers:

Best part of the job

Common perks
include working in
an industry with
hands-on learning
and problem solving.

1. The I figured it out dance.

2. Playing with ancient hardware.
3. Being there to help others.
4. Honing TechWizardry skills.
5. TOYS! TOYS! TOYS!
6. Everyone wants to be my friend.
7. Never knowing whats next.
8. Watching cat videos.
9. Being able to build and create.
10. T he sound of server fans.

Switch
6

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

average # of cups
of caffeine per day

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

Define your IT style

When given these
3 choices:
Benevolent
overload
Caretaker of
the helpless

32%

A S LONG AS
YOU LET M E
CHAT, I M COOL.

46%

Ruthless
dictator

22%

Switch
8

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

The top 10 answers:

Worst part of the job

Common woes
of IT pros include
lack of time,
resources,
appreciation
and sleep.

1. Running out of coffee.

2. Pants are sometimes mandatory.
3. Constant interruptions.
4. Being behind in technology.
5. The uncaring user.
6. The unknown.
7. Working at all hours.
8. Taking unscreened sales calls.
9. Fixing urgent issues.
10. Fixing the copier. Again.

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

10

average years
in IT

Switch
10

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

Whats your favorite OS?

When given these
6 choices:

Chrome

Amiga OS

1%

10%

Linux

12%

BSD

<1%
O NE M ORE
SYSTEM U PDATE,
A ND I M GOING
BANANAS.

OS X

Windows

66%

22%

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

11

Must have mobile apps

Switch
12

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

25

average # of
users supported
On average, women reported
having 28 users to support.
View more results:
A closer look: How women
rule their IT empires

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

13

Whats your favorite Eaton desk toy?

When given these
10 choices:

Desk
monkey

12%

Googly eye
monster
Dinosaur

9%

6%

Strongman

5%

Chattering
teeth
Bacon

12% 3%

Devil duck

10%

Robot

I M FLATTERED, IT
PROS DO THEIR
RESEARCH WHEN
M AKING I MPORTANT
D ECISIONS LIKE THIS.

Zombie

17%
Hula girl

15%

11%

Switch
14

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

The top 10 answers:

When the server crashes Id rather be

Turns out many
IT pros would
rather be gaming
than dealing with
a server crash.

1. Far, far away.

2. Hunting zombies.
3. Working on my Raspberry Pi.
4. Watching SpongeBob.
5. Watching football.
6. Sitting on beach in Tahiti.
7. Riding my pet dinosaur.
8. Eating bacon.
9. Building a new computer.
10. Crying and eating my feelings.

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

15

average # of racks

Switch
16

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

Whats your chosen super power?

When given these
7 choices:
Teleporting

27%

X-ray vision

4%

Super
strength

6%

Invisibility

17%

Flying

15%

TELEPORTING?
REALLY? YOU S HOULD
TRY I MMORTALITY.

Mind reading
Shape
shifting

21%

10%

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

17

The top 10 answers:

Craziest thing Ive seen in the office

IT pros have
seen it all.

1.

User plugged a power strip into itself and wondered why

nothing turned on.
2. Breaking down a server room door.
3. 20 year old desktop PC supporting a critical app for Fortune
100 clients.
4. A flying laptop.
5. Dead squirrel in the communications closet.
6. Someone bringing a laptop dripping with coffee for me to fix.
7. A coworker taking a 30 minute nap under the desk.
8. A huge rats nest of 40+ cables, all connected to unlabeled
sockets.
9. Microwave setting off sprinklers that took down the data center.
10. What happens in the office . . . stays in the office . . .

Switch
18

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

average # of servers

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

19

How do you spend your day?

When given these
4 choices:
Doing
something else

29%

Surfing
the web

30%

I S PEND 90% O F MY
DAY PLANNING WORLD
DOMINATION. THE OTHER
10%? S PIN CLASS.

Doing actual
IT work

26%

Helping
people print

15%

Switch
20

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

The top 10 answers:

How else I spend my day

We see that IT
pros are pulled in
a million different
directions, but here
are some of our
favorites.

1. Saving the world

2. Changing passwords
3. Closing tickets
4. Useless meetings
5. Researching
6. Doing other peoples work
7. Saying reboot your PC
8. Scanning the network
9. Trying to be patient
10. Unlocking user accounts

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

21

average # of UPSs

Switch
22

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

Whats your favorite music genre?

When given these
9 choices:

Blues
Hip-hop

13%

3%

Country

9%

Jazz

5%
Heavy
metal

10%

Electronic

13%

I H AVE THIS
REALLY AWESOME
DANCE M OVE
C ALLED THE S IZZLE.

Pop

11%

Classical

6%

Rock

30%
Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

23

average # of
virtual machines

Switch
24

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

Pick a side . . .
When asked
either/or:

Cats

Star Trek

32%

Star Wars

Dogs

66%

68%

WHAT A BOUT
LEOPARD PRINT
LEOTARDS?

Dilbert

Briefs

47%

34%

Boxers

53%

Far Side

44%

56%

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

25

Pick a side . . .
When asked
either/or:

Mac

19%
Spiceworks
member

14%

Not a Spiceworks
member

PC

81%
I DO A LL MY WORK
O N A TABLET.
A STONE TABLET.

81%

Switch
26

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

50

average # of
emails per day
On average, women reported having
58 more emails daily. View more results:
A closer look: How women rule their
IT empires

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

27

Thanks for viewing!

View our other report:

A closer look: How women rule their

IT empires

Switch
28

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

N to Eaton.

For tools, resources and more insights from

IT pros, visit

switchon.eaton.com

Switch

N to Eaton.

EATON Interesting facts about IT professionals and their environments

29