- 06 June, 2008 11:53 AM EST
- How We Like to Put New Technology Solutions in Place
In our recent IT Leaders poll, which had 125 respondents, we asked: "What is your preferred way of developing technology solutions?" The answers:
* Buying technology and customizing it — 47.4%
* Selecting technology partners to develop solutions — 26.3%
* Building technology in-house — 18.4%
* Outsourcing to a service provider — 7.9%
This was a bit of a trick question. Our primary research organization asked this same question to IT professionals and the responses were:
* Buying technology and customizing it — 45%
* Selecting technology partners to develop solutions — 30%
* Building technology in-house — 15%
* Outsourcing to a service provider — 10%
These results are extremely close. What can we surmise from this? First, the poll we asked of IT Leaders seems to consistently come up with results similar to those obtained by our statisticians. I've asked questions that mirror questions asked by our primary research organization before, and the results are always very similar. Although we cannot rely on them 100%, it gives us some comfort that the information provides utility.
Second, it tells us that Enterprise Architecture (EA) teams might consider focusing on the areas with greater percentages. I worded that sentence carefully, because based on how the question was asked, an organization that does only custom development would have picked "building technology in-house." If its EA team focused solely on "buying technology and customizing it," then the EA team would not be providing much utility to the organization. That being said, the masses are tending toward technology solutions that are purchased and customized, or they are opting to hire service providers to do the work. If you are in line with the masses, then you should consider double-checking the focus of your EA effort, because you should be focusing on "buying technology and customizing it" or "selecting technology partners to develop solutions." That's where a lot of the action will be.
Finally, if your preferred way to develop new technology solutions is neither "buying technology and customizing it" nor "selecting technology partners to develop solutions," it may not be that way for much longer. Consider this possibility and act accordingly.
