Balancing Innovation Investment & Cost Control: the New Normal

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on all aspects of your business. Many IT departments are being asked to pivot from innovation to “survival-mode” operations, focusing on cost savings and changing business process. This market research project will gauge how IT leaders are reacting, and how it is affecting their teams and the broader organization.

The survey is open until 1 June 2020 …

… remaining.

Take the survey!

See the Results

Learn More …

Methodology

Subject	Market research survey to gauge how IT leaders are reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s effect on the economy.
Method	Web-based survey, global data collection. Survey will collect some basic demographics; anonymized results will be available for comparison to a representative peer group. All questions will have a “Comments” section, so survey taker can capture thoughts.
Objective	Get hard data and specific examples from active / practicing IT leaders. Measure the (presumed) shift in focus for the IT team, from proactive innovation to reactive cost cutting. Enumerate current and new ideas for addressing this challenge.
Duration	Survey runs from Monday, 27 April 2020 through Monday, 1 June 2020
External Sponsor(s)	None (independent survey by Maker Turtle LLC)
Results (Summary)	Available on Maker Turtle.com after Monday, 1 June 2020
Results (Detailed)	Free for all participants! Available after Monday, 1 June 2020

Interested in doing your own research survey? Click here to learn more …

Survey

Who should complete this survey? Questions are intended for the highest ranking person in the organization responsible for the internal IT function. Who runs the day-to-day operations, and makes resourcing decisions (time, people, and investment) when it comes to information technology?

Please Note: At the end of the survey, we will ask for your name and email address. This is done to guard against false entries, and so that we can send the results when the survey is finished. You will not be automatically added to any marketing databases – promise!

Only 10 Questions ...

1. In January 2020, what was your primary strategy for balancing Innovation and Cost?

Aggressive investments in innovation, funded by incremental IT budget (new money)Aggressive investments in innovation, funded by budget reallocations (cost cutting)Opportunistic innovation, funded 'on the cheap' from budget savingsMinimal innovation – overriding focus on cost controls while maintaining availabilityOther (please comment below)

Comments

2. In January 2020, how did you apportion your budget?

Enter the % of total for each category - values should add up to 100
Run the Business / Keep the Trains Running
Enhance the Business / Projects and Strategic Initiatives
Advance the Business / Innovation and Experimentation

Comments

3. At this time (mid-2020), what areas of the business do you think are “under siege”, going through momentous change and experiencing heavy pressures?

Check all that apply ...
Operations: Internal processes (manufacturing, supply chain, finance, HR, etc.) and supporting systems
Customer-Facing: External processes (customer service, sales & marketing, distribution channels, etc.) and supporting systems
Product Development: Growth and/or Improvement oriented
Data / Analytics: Reporting and Analysis for internal use
Team / Culture: Internal / employee support and development

Comments

4. At this time (mid-2020), what is your primary strategy for balancing Innovation and Cost?

Comments

5. At this time (mid-2020), how are you apportioning your budget?

Comments

Cost Controls

Innovation

The Big Picture

8. Overall, have expectations for business continuity and business resilience changed in the past 6 months?

Not at all – it’s business-as-usual, we anticipated events like thisSomewhat – there are some internal changes being madeSignificant – the nature of the business has changedMassive – we are rethinking everythingOther (please comment below)

Comments

9. How have these environmental changes impacted the culture and morale of your IT teams?

The team is highly engaged, and we feel like true partners with the other functional areas of the businessWe feel connected and part of the process, but that is a recent change (based on current events)The team is disconnected, and not sure what the overall plan is; IT is an afterthoughtThese changes have driven a wedge between IT and the rest of the businessOther (please comment below)

Comments

10. What question(s) would you like to ask your peers?

Some Information About Your Organization

Please take the additional time to answer these demographic questions.

They will allow us to do some comparative analysis, and make the survey results more valuable for you.

11. What industry best describes your company?

12. What is your company’s annual revenue (approximately)?

13. What type of organization is your company?

14. How many employees (overall) at your company?

15. How many employees in your IT organization?

16. What is your job title?

[checkbox MT2004a-160b "I am the highest placed technology leader in the organization" default:1]

17. In what country are your primary operations?

Country:
[group MyStates]
(if US) State:
[/group]

All done!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. We hope they have generated some thoughts for you - and we appreciate the ideas you have brought to the table.

And now, a final request. We need to know your name and email address when you submit your survey. This is only done to guard against false entries, and so that we can send the results when the survey is finished.

You will not be automatically added to any marketing databases – we promise!

First Name:
Last Name:
eMail:

By submitting this survey, you agree that we may store your name and eMail address connected to your answers, for research purposes only. If you do not agree to this, please exit this form now.

Required!
I understand the terms above, and consent to submit this data.

We value your insight! Thank you for your time today!!

a. Cut travel, expense, and/or training budget	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
b. Hiring freeze, headcount reductions	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
c. Rotating staff furloughs	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
d. Reduce and/or eliminate internal services (ex. service desk, analytics)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
e. Defer, reduce, and/or eliminate external services (ex. 3rd party tech services)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
f. Renegotiate software, hardware support contracts for better pricing	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
g. Secure development funding from service providers and vendor partners	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
h. Cancel software, hardware support contracts, switch to cheaper providers	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
i. Cancel software, hardware support contracts to eliminate costs	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
j. Simplification and/or elimination of supported systems that are low-impact	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
k. Cost transfers to other departments	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
l. Defer planned capital investments	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
m. Capitalize investments that have been historically treated as expense, to gain cash benefit of depreciation	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit

a. Move IT / digital infrastructure to the cloud	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
b. Outsource IT operations	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
c. Enable electronic payments	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
d. Implement shop-floor automation / paperless manufacturing	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
e. Implement centralized shared services (payroll, HR, finance, IT, legal)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
f. Outsource business processes (payroll, HR, finance, IT, legal)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit

g. Coordinate EDI / electronic transactions	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
h. Implement / improve eCommerce (transactions)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
i. Implement / improve eCommerce (technical service and support)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit

j. Resource (time and money) experimentation in Internet of Things tech	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
k. Resource pilot projects in Artificial Intelligence (products)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit

l. Aggregate operational and external data	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
m. Investigate data self-service and reporting / visualization tech	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
n. Drive data governance practices	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit
o. Resource pilot projects in Artificial Intelligence (internal use)	OperationalIn ProcessPlannedFutureNot a Fit

Methodology

Survey

Only 10 Questions ...

Cost Controls

Innovation

Operations

Customer Facing

Product Development

Data, Reporting, and Analytics

Team Support and Development

The Big Picture

Some Information About Your Organization

All done!

Results

Preliminary results will be available starting 25 May 2020