Senior leaders in organisations are holding back technology adoption, say the IT managers in their organisations.
The report from 8×8 and the Institute of Directors found that 45 percent of IT managers suspect that senior business leaders are holding back technology through fears that it will disrupt either their own position or the status quo within the business.
Additionally, 62 percent of IT managers felt that UK businesses are too wary when adopting new technology while only 56 percent believed that the senior business team in their organisation invests sufficient resources in keeping up to date with new technologies.
The disconnect went further than this; only 34 percent of IT directors believe that their organisation is making full use of the latest technology while 49 percent of senior business leaders do.
This may have been because of vastly differing perceptions of technology investment. 35 percent of IT managers believed that insufficient budget is directed towards technology implementation; this fell to 20 percent amongst senior business leaders.
Kevin Scott-Cowell, UK MD of 8×8 commented, “We frequently hear anecdotal evidence that IT managers face significant opposition from senior leaders when it comes to adopting new technologies such as cloud communications – this research suggests this is something which is widely felt.
“Certainly, many senior leaders fear replacing expensive legacy IT systems that they have invested in. Their reluctance to do so in order to preserve the status quo can be damaging to businesses who are losing out on the many benefits to staff productivity and, ultimately, the potential for business growth.”
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Lysanne Currie, Group Editor and Head of Content Publishing, IoD said, “Senior business leaders obviously bring vast experience and decision-making skills. The results of this study suggest that mid-level IT managers – and the wider technology community – needs to do more to explain the benefits of embracing newer forms of technology, such as a shift to cloud communications, and talk the language which the Board and Directors understand.”
The study compared the views of IT managers with those of senior directors across over 260 UK businesses.
