SaaS and IT Infrastructure Study

2008 RESEARCH REPORT
The Future of SaaS and IT Infrastructure M anagement:

A Survey of IT Decision Makers in North America
Conducted b y IT Business Edge

and Palmer Research
Sponsored b y
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IT Business Edge IT Infrastructure Management Study
Table of Contents
Executive Summary......................................................................................................................1
Purpose and Goals .......................................................................................................................2
Penetration of IT Infrastructure Management Solutions................................................................2
Impact of Compliance, Security, and Legal issues .......................................................................3
SaaS vs. Traditional Solution Delivery Models .............................................................................4
Awareness of IT Infrastructure Management Solution Providers..................................................5
Appendix A: Solution Deployment by Company Size ...................................................................7
Appendix B: Solution Deployment by Industry..............................................................................8
Appendix C: Importance of SasS Benefits....................................................................................9
Appendix D: Survey Demographics and Methodology................................................................10
© Copyright 2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission
of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. For more information, contact Dell.
IT Business Edge IT Infrastructure Management Study 1
Executive Summary
This report describes the results of a research project designed to explore the current and planned use of IT
Infrastructure Management Solutions in North American companies, focusing on the role that the SaaS (Software
as a Service) delivery model will play in the deployment of such solutions. Data was collected using an online
survey of nearly 800 business technology decision makers across a variety of industries and in companies of
varying sizes in Canada and North America.
The survey results indicated that most large enterprises and medium-sized companies have deployed multiple
types of IT Infrastructure Management Solutions. The only type of IT Infrastructure Management Solution employed
by a majority of small companies was anti-malware and virus protection.
Although a minority of companies are currently using SaaS solutions in this area, the majority were aware of this
option, and most of those who are not now using it are open to the possibility in the future. Among those using
SaaS-based IT Infrastructure Management Solutions, most said they were either equally satisfied with SaaS
solutions as compared to on-premises solutions or more satisfied with the SaaS solutions.
Other conclusions and key data points of this research effort include:
· Current adoption rates for IT Infrastructure Management Solutions are highest among enterprise-size
businesses (companies with more than 1,000 employees), but there is less difference between enterprises and
medium-size companies (100 to 1,000 employees) than there is between medium-size and small companies
(fewer than 100 employees).
· Compliance concerns and security issues support the need for IT Infrastructure Management Solutions, with
nearly one third of respondents indicating they have had difficulty complying with regulatory requirements due to
ineffective PC asset management.
· Security is also a concern: More than 40% of respondents had experienced a security breach in the last three
years, and more than one third had suffered a loss of critical data due to technical problems, lost computers, or
stolen equipment.
· 29% of respondents had been subpoenaed to provide copies of e-mails from employees, and although
enterprises indicated the highest rate at more than half, one out of five medium-size companies had also been
subpoenaed.
· The top perceived benefits for adopting the SaaS model in delivering IT Infrastructure Solutions are the ability to
expand operations as needed, minimal administration required, and low up-front costs.
· Among those not using SaaS-based IT Infrastructure Management Solutions, the primary concerns regarding
the model are lack of integration with other in-house apps, security risks, and performance issues.
· When respondents were asked to indicate their awareness of various solution providers across the major
categories of IT Infrastructure Management, Microsoft® and Google®/Postini had the most established brands
for E-mail Management, Microsoft and Dell for Desktop Management services, and HPO and Tivoli for Network
Management.
Purpose and Goals

The purpose of this research project was to explore the current and planned use of IT Infrastructure Management
Solutions in North American companies and to determine the role that the SaaS (Software as a Service) delivery
model will play in the deployment of such solutions. Data was collected using an online survey of nearly 800
business technology decision makers in companies of varying sizes located in Canada and North America. These
companies represented a variety of industries, including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, government,
and education.
This research report provides details on the adoption rates for several types of IT Infrastructure Management
Solutions, explores the relevance of these solutions in relation to compliance, and looks at security and legal issues
enterprises can mitigate by adopting such products. It pays special attention to drivers and inhibitors of SaaS
adoption, the benefits of using the SaaS model, and customer satisfaction when deploying SaaS for IT
Infrastructure Management Solutions. Additionally, this report looks at the specific brands of IT Infrastructure
Management Solutions that business-technology decision makers, including IT managers and executive-level
management executives, are currently aware of.
Penetration of IT Infrastructure Management Solutions

Adoption rates vary greatly among the various categories of IT Infrastructure Management Solutions. For example,
anti-malware and virus-protection solutions have been adopted by 93% of the survey respondents, whereas only
46% have adopted laptop data-encryption solutions. Table 1 shows adoption rates for each IT Infrastructure
Management Solution category, along with the percentage of organizations with plans to purchase in the next year.
Table 1
Plan to acquire in No plans

Solution Have
next 12 months to acquire
Laptop data encryption 46% 18% 36%

Software inventory and usage
59% 17% 24%
management
E-mail archive management 63% 15% 22%
Online backup and data recovery 72% 13% 15%
Asset management 63% 12% 25%
Patch management 63% 11% 26%
E-mail continuity and security 74% 11% 15%
Software distribution 67% 10% 23%
Server management 79% 8% 13%
Network management 82% 7% 11%
Anti-malware and virus protection 93% 3% 4%
Not surprisingly, adoption rates for these solutions were uniformly higher in enterprise-size organizations (1,000 or
more employees) than they were in medium-size businesses (100 to 999 employees) and small businesses (fewer
than 100 employees). However, in many cases, enterprises and medium-size organizations were much more
similar in their adoption and planned deployment rates than medium-size and small companies were. For example,
when asked about asset management, 88% of enterprises had either deployed a solution or were planning to do
so, and 78% of medium-size companies answered similarly, whereas only 53% of small organizations did.
Similarly, when it came to server management, 95% of enterprises had either deployed or planned to deploy, 92%
of medium-size companies had, and 70% of small companies answered similarly.
On an industry-by-industry basis, the percentage planning to adopt specific types of IT Infrastructure Management
Solutions in the next 12 months was for the most part consistent among the different segments. However, a few
variations were worth noting. For example, whereas 12% of all respondents said they were planning to adopt asset
management solutions, that number jumped to 16% among those in education and manufacturing. And although
the overall number for software inventory and usage management was 17%, that rate was 22% in the consultant
and education groups and 24% for government, but only 9% for manufacturing.
For a complete breakdown of adoption rates and planned deployments based on company size and industry, see
Appendixes A and B at the end of this report.
Impact of Compliance, Security, and Legal issues

IT Infrastructure Management Solutions can play a critical role in helping organizations deal with regulatory issues,
software audits, security breaches, and the recovery of critical data that has been lost or stolen. The findings of this
survey indicate that assistance in these areas is of value to companies of all sizes.
Nearly 30% of all survey respondents indicated their companies have had some difficulty complying with regulatory
requirements because of ineffective PC asset management. The most frequent sources of compliance problems
were Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA regulations. Not surprisingly, companies in the healthcare industry indicated the
highest level of difficulty with HIPAA compliance (44%) compared to the entire survey respondent base (12%).
Although compliance issues were most common among enterprise-sized companies with more than 1,000
employees, big business was not alone in feeling the compliance pinch: 38% of enterprises indicated they had
experienced some compliance difficulties, but so did 27% of medium-sized companies. 24% of users in the finance
industry found it more difficult to comply with Sarbanes Oxley than users in the other industries measured (15%).
Of the survey respondents, 26% indicated their organizations have been audited or are in the process of being
audited for software-license compliance! It is clear that enterprises need to be on top of this issue, given that 42%
of companies with 1,000 or more employees indicated they had been or are currently being audited. But cause for
concern is not exclusive to large organizations: among medium-size companies, 22% said they had been or are
currently being audited.
Although 58% of the respondents indicated that their organization has not had a security breach in the past three
years, this means 4 out of 10 have had at least one. And on average, one of those four (10% overall) said they had
been breached four or more times during that period. Data loss seems to be a problem on a similar, although
slightly reduced scale, with 35% of survey respondents saying their organization had experienced a loss of critical
data due to technical problems such as hard-drive failure or due to lost or stolen computers. And that lost data
meant lost dollars. Although 22% of respondents estimated the value of lost data to be less than $10,000, 10%
reported losses valued between $10,000 and $100,000, and 3% estimated that data losses had cost their
companies more than $100,000.
A surprising 29% of respondents indicated that their organizations had been subpoenaed to provide copies of e-
mails from one or more of their employees, and once again the problem was not isolated to large companies.
Enterprises did indicate the highest rate of having been subpoenaed, with just over half of them reporting they had
been. But more than one out of five medium-size companies also said they been subpoenaed to provide employee
e-mails. Only 6% of small companies had been subpoenaed. The likelihood of enterprises and medium-size
businesses being required under court order to produce employee e-mails suggests that these companies cannot
afford to ignore the need for e-mail security and archive-management solutions. The industries that reported the
highest rates of having been subpoenaed to provide employee e-mails were healthcare (47%), finance (44%), and
government (42%).
SaaS vs. Traditional Solution-Delivery Models

Organizations are addressing the need for IT Infrastructure Management Solutions using a variety of approaches:
manual processes, licensed software solutions, “home-grown” applications, third-party service providers, Software
as a Service, and various combinations of these. Chart 1 shows the wide variance of answers the survey
respondents provided when asked what approach their organizations are taking.
Chart 1: IT Infrastructure Management Approaches

Our organization has home-grown
applications for most of our IT infrastructure
management.
Our organization licenses most of our IT
16%
infrastructure management solutions.
30% Our organization contracts with a
third-party organization (e.g. IT
service provider or managed service
provider) to perform most of our IT
infrastructure management.
11%
Our organization has a combination
of licensed and SaaS solutions for IT
infrastructure management.
11%
Our organization leases most of our

IT infrastructure management
Our organization handles most of our IT solutions under a SaaS model.
infrastructure management tasks manually. 1%
31%
Although manual processes, licensed solutions, and home-grown applications accounted for more than three
quarters of the response to this section of the survey, 62% of respondents said that they are extremely, very, or
somewhat familiar with SaaS as an option for IT Infrastructure Management solutions.
Those respondents who are currently using SaaS-based IT Infrastructure Management Solutions were asked to
rate their overall level of satisfaction with them. Two thirds of these respondents said they were either as satisfied
or more with SaaS solutions as they were with on-premises solutions.
Of the respondents not currently using SaaS-based IT Infrastructure Management Solutions, 55% indicated that
they would consider adopting SaaS-based solutions for IT Infrastructure Management in the future. In terms of
specific timeframes, 6% said they would consider adopting SaaS-based solutions in the next 6 months, 9% in the
next 7 to 12 months, 8% in the next 13 to 18 months, and 7% some time after 18 months.
Both respondents who currently use SaaS solutions for IT infrastructure Management and those who do not were
asked to rate the importance of specific benefits provided by the SaaS model. In both groups, the same three
benefits were rated as “Very Important”: can be expanded as needed, minimal administration, and lower up-front
costs. See Appendix C for complete data regarding the relative importance of SasS benefits.
Respondents whose organizations are not currently using SaaS-based solutions for IT Infrastructure Management
were asked to select their major concerns; the two most widely chosen were lack of integration with other in-house
applications and security risks. Chart 2 shows the percentage of respondents who expressed specific concerns.
Chart 2: Major Concerns
Lack of integration with other

in-house applications
Security risks
Performance issues/
more downtime
Not enough control
Higher long-term costs vs.

on-premises solutions
0 10 20 30 40 50
Awareness of IT Infrastructure Management Solution Suppliers

All survey respondents were asked to indicate their awareness of various solution providers across the major
categories of IT Infrastructure Management. Microsoft and Google/Postini seemed to be the most established
brands in the minds of businesses when it comes to E-mail Management, Microsoft and Dell appeared to be the
brands most IT decision makers were aware of in the category of Desktop Management services, and HPO and
Tivoli had the highest level of awareness in Network Management services. Charts 3 to 5 show the supplier-
awareness rankings in each category.
Chart 3: Suppliers of E-mail Management Services
Microsoft
Google (Postini)
Symantec
Dell
MessageOne
Mimosa Systems
Proofpoint (Fortiva)
Zantaz
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Chart 4: Suppliers of Network Management Solutions
HP-Open View
Tivoli (IBM)
CA
Dell
Concord
Silverback
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Chart 5: Suppliers of Desktop Management Solutions
Microsoft
Dell
Altiris (Symantec)
LANDesk
Intuit Track IT
Everdream
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Conclusions
Survey data indicates that a variety of IT Infrastructure management solutions are common in large enterprises and
medium-sized companies, but only anti-malware and virus protection solutions are in widespread use within small
companies. Although few organizations are currently using SaaS solutions, there is widespread awareness of this
option, and many technology decision makers are open to trying it. Among those who are currently using SaaS-
based IT Infrastructure Management Solutions, most find them to meet their needs as well as or better than
traditionally delivered solutions.
Appendix A: Solution Deployment by Company Size

Small Medium
Enterprise
Type of Solution Deployment Status Business Business
(1,000+)
(<100) (100-999)
Anti-malware and virus
Have 86% 96% 96%
protection
No solution/No plan to acquire 8% 2% 2%
Plan to acquire in next year 6% 2% 3%
Asset management Have 39% 64% 78%
E-mail archive management Have 47% 62% 74%
E-mail continuity and security Have 59% 75% 84%
Laptop data encryption Have 33% 38% 60%
Network management Have 66% 83% 93%
Online backup and data
Have 56% 71% 83%
recovery
Patch management Have 39% 63% 77%
Server management Have 57% 86% 90%
Software distribution Have 49% 62% 80%
Software inventory and usage
Have 39% 59% 72%
management
Appendix B: Solution Deployment by Industry

Solution Type Option Total Consultant Education Finance Govt. Healthcare Mfg.
Have 63% 46% 55% 74% 65% 68% 60%
Plan to acquire in
Asset management 12% 10% 16% 10% 12% 13% 16%
next year
No solution/No
25% 45% 30% 16% 23% 19% 24%
plan to acquire
Have 63% 45% 58% 70% 70% 73% 67%
Plan to acquire in
Patch management next year 11% 14% 9% 12% 12% 6% 5%
No solution/No
26% 40% 33% 18% 18% 21% 28%
plan to acquire
Have 67% 47% 59% 79% 74% 77% 63%
Plan to acquire in
Software distribution next year 11% 19% 6% 8% 12% 8% 1%
No solution/No
23% 34% 34% 13% 14% 15% 36%
plan to acquire
Have 93% 86% 95% 94% 93% 96% 95%
Anti-malware and Plan to acquire in
3% 4% 2% 4% 3% 1% 3%
virus protection next year
No solution/No
4% 10% 3% 2% 4% 3% 3%
plan to acquire
Have 72% 60% 67% 79% 68% 77% 81%
Online backup and Plan to acquire in
13% 15% 11% 13% 13% 13% 6%
data recovery next year
No solution/No
15% 25% 22% 8% 20% 10% 13%
plan to acquire
Have 46% 39% 33% 66% 47% 50% 55%
Laptop data Plan to acquire in
17% 19% 20% 10% 15% 21% 15%
encryption next year
No solution/No
36% 42% 47% 25% 38% 29% 30%
plan to acquire
Have 59% 45% 36% 65% 60% 64% 70%
Software inventory Plan to acquire in
17% 22% 22% 16% 24% 15% 9%
and usage next year
management No solution/No
24% 33% 42% 18% 16% 21% 22%
plan to acquire
Have 79% 63% 84% 86% 79% 88% 86%

Plan to acquire in
Server management next year 8% 8% 6% 8% 10% 6% 4%
No solution/No
13% 29% 9% 7% 11% 5% 10%
plan to acquire
Have 82% 65% 86% 87% 84% 88% 85%
Network Plan to acquire in
7% 11% 2% 7% 8% 6% 5%
management next year
No solution/No
11% 24% 13% 7% 8% 5% 10%
plan to acquire
Have 74% 63% 67% 79% 73% 81% 78%
E-mail continuity and Plan to acquire in 11% 11% 13% 13% 12% 10% 8%
security next year
No solution/No
15% 27% 20% 8% 15% 9% 15%
plan to acquire
Have 63% 52% 63% 71% 57% 65% 73%
E-mail archive Plan to acquire in
15% 12% 17% 17% 21% 14% 10%
management next year
No solution/No
22% 35% 20% 12% 21% 21% 18%
plan to acquire
Appendix C: Importance of SaaS Benefits

Organizations Currently Using SaaS Solutions for IT Infrastructure Management
Somewhat
Benefit Very Important Not Important
Important
Can be expanded as needed 66% 22% 12%

Minimal administration 63% 25% 12%
Lower up-front costs 60% 26% 14%
Rapid deployment 58% 27% 15%
Automatic upgrades 58% 28% 14%
Lower TCO 57% 29% 14%
Less IT staff required 56% 28% 16%
Organizations Not Using SaaS Solutions for IT Infrastructure Management
Somewhat
Benefit Very Important Not Important
Important
Can be expanded as needed 74% 18% 8%

Minimal administration 69% 24% 7%
Lower up-front costs 65% 24% 10%
Lower TCO 64% 25% 11%
Automatic upgrades 63% 27% 10%
Rapid deployment 63% 22% 15%
Less IT staff required 60% 26% 14%
Appendix D: Survey Demographics and Methodology
Company size
Number of Employees Percent

Fewer than 100 (small) 30%
100-999 (medium) 24%
Over 1,000 (large) 46%
Title / work function
Title Percent
All Information Technology 63%
All business management 21%
Consultants 8%
Other 6%
IT functions that survey respondents are engaged in (selected from list)
IT Function Engaged in at Operational or Management Level Percent

IT strategies and budgeting 60%
Support, education, training, documentation 57%
Operations or maintenance 53%
Testing of hardware and software integration 48%
Network security 41%
Software development 36%
None of these 10%
Respondents’ business and industry classification
Business / Industry Percent

Consultant 14%
Financial services 12%
Manufacturing 11%
Government 10%
Healthcare / life sciences / pharmaceuticals 10%
Education 8%
Retail / wholesale / distribution 7%
Engineering / construction / technical services 6%
Telecommunications 5%
Travel, leisure, hospitality, publishing 3%
Utilities 2%
Other 13%
Geography
Geographic Region Percent

Eastern US and Eastern Canada 49%
Central US and Central Canada 25%
Western US and Western Canada 26%
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2008 RESEARCH REPORT

The Future of SaaS and IT Infrastructure M anagement:

Conducted b y IT Business Edge

Purpose and Goals .......................................................................................................................2

Penetration of IT Infrastructure Management Solutions................................................................2

Impact of Compliance, Security, and Legal issues .......................................................................3

SaaS vs. Traditional Solution Delivery Models .............................................................................4

Awareness of IT Infrastructure Management Solution Providers..................................................5

Appendix A: Solution Deployment by Company Size ...................................................................7

Appendix B: Solution Deployment by Industry..............................................................................8

Appendix C: Importance of SasS Benefits....................................................................................9

Appendix D: Survey Demographics and Methodology................................................................10

Purpose and Goals

Penetration of IT Infrastructure Management Solutions

Plan to acquire in No plans

Laptop data encryption 46% 18% 36%

Impact of Compliance, Security, and Legal issues

SaaS vs. Traditional Solution-Delivery Models

Chart 1: IT Infrastructure Management Approaches

Our organization leases most of our

Chart 2: Major Concerns

Lack of integration with other

Higher long-term costs vs.

Awareness of IT Infrastructure Management Solution Suppliers

Chart 3: Suppliers of E-mail Management Services

Chart 4: Suppliers of Network Management Solutions

Chart 5: Suppliers of Desktop Management Solutions

Appendix A: Solution Deployment by Company Size

Appendix B: Solution Deployment by Industry

Have 79% 63% 84% 86% 79% 88% 86%

Appendix C: Importance of SaaS Benefits

Can be expanded as needed 66% 22% 12%

Organizations Not Using SaaS Solutions for IT Infrastructure Management

Can be expanded as needed 74% 18% 8%

Appendix D: Survey Demographics and Methodology

Number of Employees Percent

Title / work function

IT functions that survey respondents are engaged in (selected from list)

IT Function Engaged in at Operational or Management Level Percent

Respondents’ business and industry classification

Business / Industry Percent

Geographic Region Percent

About Dell Modular Services

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