80% Of IT Managers Agree That Our Tech Stacks Need To Change

The way we work has dramatically shifted in the past 2 years. Some employers have given up office spaces and offered remote-only positions, while others have pivoted full-time to a hybrid model. This change in work culture has turned up the dial on how we use and rely on tools to keep teams moving at a competitive pace.

So what technology matters most as we navigate these changes and look to the future? One thing is clear: Every company, regardless of industry, needs a single source of truth to operate and thrive. With the right software, teams — regardless of how they’re distributed — could efficiently answer multiple needs and boost productivity and bottom-line results for an entire organization. Yet many are having a hard time making that happen.

Today, those in charge of key software decisions agree that tech stacks need to consolidate and change if companies want to stay ahead.

Survey findings show IT decision-makers are focused on efficiency

Our team at monday.com, in partnership with Rep Data, a full-service data collection firm for primary researchers, recently released a new report surveying IT decision-makers to see how they are approaching their work, IT spend, and software.

The report found that, despite the economic climate, a majority of surveyed teams across the US, AU and UK increased their software budgets in 2022. These teams also expect to continue growing those budgets in 2023 with a focus on software that enables more efficient and productive workplaces.

The report includes a number of notable findings about how IT decision makers are approaching work this year and beyond, including:

Software budgets are increasing globally.

- More than half of IT decision makers (57% of U.S., 54% of U.K., 56% of AU) increased their software budgets in 2022.
- Even more expect to increase those budgets in 2023 (67% of U.S., 55% of U.K., 68% of AU).

Global IT teams are streamlining their work by consolidating their software tools.

- More than half of U.S., U.K., and AU IT decision-makers use 4+ tools every single day for their work. But, 8 out of every 10 say there is room for improvement in their tools and processes.
- Nearly a third say they could remove 3 or more tools from their current tech stack without impacting productivity.
- When deciding to consolidate, over 60% rank benefits to their efficiency and workflows as the highest factors in deciding which platforms to keep.

Ease of use is the #1 priority for software tools.
- U.S., U.K., and AU decision makers rank ease of use as the top priority in choosing new software tools.
- This is followed by integrations as the second most important feature for software tools across each region.

Beyond our high-level findings, here’s a full breakdown of what else the survey revealed:

Technology was the most common type of business that replied to our survey, followed closely by Finance and Retail.
Companies with 100-499 people were the largest segment surveyed followed by those with less than 100 employees.
$10M revenue to $99M revenue was tied with less than 10$ revenue for the largest category surveyed.
The most common titles were Director/Sr Manager/Manager.
Most commonly used platforms were spreadsheets, Word processing, and Finance software.
Most common daily used platforms were spreadsheets, Word processing, and Communication software.
98% of respondents scored their productivity at work higher than a 6 out of 10.
Most IT decision-makers are working from the office for more than half of their schedule.
Nearly 1 out of every 3 IT teams reported using some form of CRM every day.
Ease of use is the #1 most important attribute in any work software (35%). This is closely followed by integrations taking the #2 (18%) most important attribute across the world.
Nearly 1-10 IT decision-makers (8%) use 8+ tools every single day.
41% of all IT decision-makers say they need 4+ tools every day to perform their jobs.
4% of all IT decision-makers say they need 8+ tools every day to perform their jobs.
All IT decision-makers (100%) say they could remove at least a single tool from their tech stack without impacting productivity.
53% said they could remove 2+ tools from their tech stack without impacting productivity.
15% say they could remove at least 4 tools from their tech stack without impacting productivity.
8 out of every 10 IT decision-makers (86%) say there is room for improvement in their tools and processes.
Nearly 1 out of every 3 IT teams (30%) reported having significant room for improvement in their tools and processes.
1 out of every 10 IT decision makers said they are dissatisfied with how their platforms help their colleagues efficiently do their jobs.
9 out of every 10 IT decision-makers are satisfied that their current tools are maximizing efficiency.
More than 4 out of every 5 respondents (85%) expect consolidation of software to streamline their work, showing that there is an overabundance of software that teams are paying for.
When deciding to consolidate, 6 out of every 10 respondents said benefits to their efficiency and workflows are the highest ranked factor when deciding which platforms to consolidate.
When it comes to determining which to keep, a majority of respondents (rank choice data 22%) said they will evaluate organization efficiency the most when making key decisions.
56% of respondents said the budget for software increased in 2022.
63% of respondents said the budget for software will likely increase in 2022.

The future of enterprise IT looks bright

Based on the responses, the future of enterprise software looks promising. While there are still concerns about the current economic environment, IT teams know one thing to be true – digital transformation is here to stay, and they are prioritizing software budgets to continue building innovative businesses. More than ever, IT teams across the U.S., U.K., and Australia are focused on finding the best software solutions for their teams, and consolidating to create tech stacks that truly reflect the needs of their company.

With IT teams increasing their software budgets while also consolidating platforms, there’s a greater need for software providers to offer platforms that aid in efficiency across the team, as a whole, and that offer multiple solutions for teams. Simultaneously, IT teams need to prove that their existing and prospective tools allow them to manage their time and productivity to the best of their ability, and in the environments that they’re working in, whether that be fully in-person, remote, or hybrid.