New research shows hybrid IT infrastructure is here to stay

LogicMonitor, the SaaS-based unified observability platform for hybrid IT infrastructures, has released Future Further, a new global research report that explores the infrastructure blindspots that have the biggest impact on business success. 

With insights pulled from a survey of 500 global IT leaders across the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, the Future Further report details the mounting challenges businesses face as they navigate rocky cloud migrations, AI demands, chaotic infrastructure monitoring solutions, competing job priorities and more.

"For every business, building for the future starts with vision and insights. But without the proper tools, IT leaders are flying blind," says Christina Kosmowski, CEO at LogicMonitor. 

"In a world where hybrid IT infrastructure is here to stay, the LogicMonitor Future Further report validates the importance of giving IT leaders and their teams the ability to clearly see what is happening now to create the opportunities to plan for tomorrow," she says.

FUTURE SHOCK: Removing chaos and cost from IT infrastructure monitoring tools 

The past decade's massive emphasis on cloud migration has slowed due to emerging business macroeconomics. A hybrid IT infrastructure model now dominates the landscape, causing chaos between on-prem and cloud infrastructure monitoring tools. 

The Future Further report found:

More than a third (36%) of IT leaders say their organisation wont be conducting any further cloud migration through 2025 as those macroeconomic forces have taken hold.
Budget cuts and cost considerations are negatively impacting cloud migration for 80% of IT leaders. 
Three out of every four (76%) of organisations with hybrid infrastructure have separate monitoring tools for their on-prem and cloud stacks. 
74% of IT leaders report spending more than a full business day each week troubleshooting and reacting to incidents.

"Our research findings make it easy to empathise with IT leaders almost half of them only have bad things to say about their current monitoring approach. While facing pressure from their teams to get ahead of any issues, they are too busy fighting fires to get the chance to proactively deliver on the mission of the business," says Ryan Worobel, Chief Information Officer at LogicMonitor. 

"This isn't just an issue for IT teams, this is a business critical problem. More than a third of the leaders we surveyed said they have put off projects which have the potential to increase revenue. That is a clear wake up call."

FUTURE VISION: The impact of AI on IT infrastructure monitoring 

While excitement about artificial intelligence is pervasive, especially among IT teams, research shows the underlying architectures may not be ready. With multiple infrastructure monitoring tools which aren't part of a cohesive approach, the challenge to implement and benefit from AI grows. 

According to the Future Further report: 

Only half (50%) of IT leaders say their company's current infrastructure is equipped to handle greater use of AI.  
IT leaders grasp the immense potential of the technology, and even have a shortlist of desired outcomes it could help tackle. 
Two in five want to see AI provide recommendations for next steps they can take to resolve incidents.
 
FUTURE PROOF: The freedom to innovate and focus on long-term results

With the current structure of on-prem and cloud IT infrastructure monitoring, teams are constantly reacting, troubleshooting and on the receiving end of complaints, demands and blame. Leaders are constantly in fight-or-flight, leading to employee burnout and high turnover rates. 

The Future Further report found that IT leaders are happiest at their jobs when they have interesting, innovative work. Specifically:

While respondents have ideas for how to solve business problems using their data, 74% say they lack the time and resources to turn those ideas into meaningful action.  
Perhaps most alarming: 35% of IT leaders say they've put off projects that increase revenue to instead focus on responding to incidents.
 
With a cohesive IT infrastructure monitoring approach and a solution which pairs intelligence with alerts, teams will no longer be chronically put in a reactive position. By gaining full observability into their IT across clouds, networks and data centres, businesses will have the ability to see how their technology is connected to the customer, ultimately positioning companies for long term resiliency and growth.