IT complexity is holding back digital transformation, restricting cloud adoption, reveals Citrix study

Citrix announced the release of research into “The State of IT Complexity in India” that revealed Indian businesses are struggling with complexity.Almost all Indian businesses (99%) have started their digital transformation journey, but only 34% have reached maturity. This complexity and confusion about the IT environment, impacts an organization’s agility, insights and ability to digitally transform.

The rise in complexity is felt by organizations in India. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents from India expressed that their organization’s IT environment was more or significantly more complex than two years ago.

The sheer volume of applications and data that need to be maintained and secured has risen in response to employee’s need to get work done anywhere at any time. This pressure is also fuelling Shadow IT, 98 per cent of the respondents from India, stated that they use non-business approved applications to get work done. Meaning applications are running in the organization’s environment unknown and unsecured.

Analytics, and the promise of business improving insights, is also suffering from complexity concerns; 88 per cent of Indian respondents believe they are missing out on the true benefits of analytics due to the complex and disperse nature of their data and applications.

Makarand Joshi, Area Vice President & Country Head, India Subcontinent, Citrix said; “The study found a strong correlation between the increasing levels of complexity felt within organisations, and the delay of digital transformation maturity.”

“The future has never looked more complex. IT leaders are being asked not only to deliver IT services, but also to improve business outcomes. Businesses must seek out a solution that allow for a unified, contextual and secure digital workspace that enables employees to securely work how, where and when they need, while simplifying management,” said Makarand Joshi, Area Vice President & Country Head, India Subcontinent, Citrix.

Study key findings:

38% of Indian businesses believe their IT environments are more or significantly more complex than two years ago.
98% of employees are using non-business approved applications to get work done.
39% of Indian businesses report using over 100 cloud and on-premise business applications.
99% of Indian businesses have started their digital transformation journey, but only 34% have reached maturity.
88% of Indian businesses believe that their organization is missing out on the full benefits of analytics due to the complex and disperse nature of their data and applications.
92% of Indian businesses are already adopting cloud technology (via SaaS, and other cloud services / technology).
79% of Indian businesses are concerned that they would not be able to respond to a data breach required by law (such as GDPR). Of those concerned, the top reasons include;
48% due to data located in different systems and applications
53% due to time concerns
Although 94% of Indian businesses state they offer flexible working, the reality is that only 32% were offered broadly within the business, while the other 62% is highly restricted; creating flexibility frustration.
95% of Indian businesses agree that employee user experience is linked to productivity.

Makarand Joshi, Area Vice President & Country Head, India Subcontinent, Citrix said; “The real strategic value of cloud adoption is as a platform for building your own applications. This will really transform business processes, how businesses do things, new ways of working and new ways of delivering those apps – this is real digital transformation and should be considered part of a broader journey”.

The State of IT Complexity in Asia Pacific and Japan study explores business working environments and specifically addresses the IT challenges, security and cloud readiness of businesses within the Asia Pacific region and Japan.