To better understand the challenges and changing priorities that IT professionals face during the COVID-19 pandemic, the customer experience agency Scheduling shares the results of AppDynamics global research that involves IT top management and IT resource management.

1. Geography: Around the world
Respondents: 1,000 IT professionals
Report
Parameters
Goal:
To learn how the pandemic is
impacting business continuity
efforts
This report examines in detail the pressures that technologists are experiencing
and how their priorities are changing as a result of COVID-19. It explores the
challenges that they must overcome to drive immediate but sustainable
innovation within their organizations, and the skills, tools and support they need
to perform at a higher level.

2. 81%
of technologists state
that COVID-19 has
created the biggest
technology pressure for
their organization that
they have ever
experienced.
Some Facts From Technologists
61%
of technologists feel
under more pressure at
work than ever before
The research finds that technologists are experiencing pressures from all sides, accelerating digital transformation projects, mobilizing huge sections of the
workforce to operate from home, while at the same time needing to manage their network and maintain security throughout the technology stack.
Everything has changed. Structures and processes have been turned upside down and priorities have radically shifted, with individual roles and
responsibilities having to adapt to meet them.
95%
Technology priorities have
changed within 95% of
organizations surveyed
during the COVID
88%
of technologists report
that digital CX is now the
priority
64%
of technologists are now
being asked to perform
tasks and activities they
have never done before

3. Voice of IT
Urgent Adapt-Transformation in Numbers
Technologists must deliver major transformation projects in previously unthinkable timeframes – all the while ensuring flawless customer
experience. All IT specialists state that technologists express concern about the longer-term impact of digital transformation initiatives they have
had to rush through during COVID-19.
say the pandemic has exposed weaknesses in their
digital strategy, driving an urgent need to push
through initiatives which were once a part of multi-year
digital transformation programs
66%
of technologists report that digital transformation
projects which would typically take more than a year to
be approved, have been signed off in a matter of weeks
74%
point to digital transformation projects that have been
implemented within weeks rather than the months or
years before the pandemic
71%
admit that they are firefighting and introducing short-
term fixes to technology problems
59%

4. Challenges for providing high quality digital customer experience during
the pandemic?
81% Website traffic control 80%
Positive digital CX through
all channels
Lack of unified visibility and insight
into performance of technology
stack and its impact on customers80%
Managing Mean Time to
Resolution (MTTR) with a
remote IT department
80%
80% of technologists believe that the performance of applications and digital services is critical to their business during this time; yet the same number
state that they are being held up by a lack of visibility and insight into the performance of their technology stack. Organizations need to recognize that
only with the right actionable insights can technologists succeed in delivering the highest levels of performance across all digital services, and enhancing
digital experiences for customers during the pandemic and beyond.

5. 90%
89%
86%
84%
Quickly acquiring or scaling technology
capabilities
Expanding bandwidth and network capacity to
ensure remote access availability and performance
Surges in help desk requests from staff
Secyrity and robust identity and access
management for network/corporate systems
(VPN/SSSO, RASP)
87%
Of technologist admit that remote working
provision is a challenge
Working at home, without the connectivity, devices and software to be effective, and often lacking the skills and knowledge to resolve simple issues. And it
has fallen to the IT department to tackle this problem. Digital services and applications are essential in keeping workforces productive at home and therefore
it is vitally important that IT departments are able to handle huge surges in demand. This means having the right tools to monitor and manage the
technology stack, from the user experience at the application layer, right through to the network.
Top of Digital Challenges of Mobilizing a Remote Workforce

6. Which skills are most important for technologist to display
during the pandemic
57%
40%
56%
47%
Collaborative, flexible and
supportive style in managing team
Outcome-driven
Being decisive and persistent,
acting on information and instrict
Analytical and criticak thinking
skilld
80%
of technologists report that the
response of their IT team to the
pandemic has positively changed
the perception of IT within their
organization.
Incredibly, despite the enormous pressure technologists are under, the report points to a staggering response from the technology community, with
87% regarding the response to COVID-19 as an opportunity for tech professionals to show their value to the business. Technologists also need the right
tools, support and environment to drive through successful digital transformation and deliver positive business outcomes for their organizations.

7. What do you need to
rise the challenges?
92%
Visibility and Insight into the
performance of the
technology and its impact
on the customers and
business
90%
Clear goal and objectives
89%
Real time data at the
point of needs
88%
87%
Autonomy and
accountability
Freedom to experiment
and take risks
At the top of the list, 92% of technologists report that having visibility and insight into the performance of the technology stack and its impact on
customers and the business is the most important factor in becoming an Agent of Transformation during this period. Other key factors in becoming an
elite technologist include having autonomy and accountability, real time data at the point of need, and access
to senior mentors or Agents of Transformation within the business.