Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK), provider of the leading software platform for real-time Operational Intelligence, today announced the results of new research in a report titled Masters of Machines II, from analyst firm Quocirca. Findings show that European organisations with the strongest Operational Intelligence capability are most likely to conquer the complexity of the fastest growing IT concerns. These concerns include security threats (up 25 per cent since 2013), data chaos (up 22 per cent) and poor customer experience (up 21 per cent), all of which contribute to an increasingly complex landscape for IT managers.
“A post-financial crisis easing of budgetary constraints means IT departments are refocusing on delivering value to the business, including delivering better customer experience as interaction becomes reliant on multiple channels,” said Bob Tarzey, analyst, Quocirca. “Supporting this cross-channel experience results in growing IT complexity and greater volumes of machine data, which, if unmanaged, increases data chaos. However, if this data is collected and analysed it can provide better insight through improved operational intelligence, enabling those with the capability to reap the benefits: better security awareness, higher system uptime and improved customer service levels.”
The report identifies three areas in which Operational Intelligence can help conquer complexity:
IT infrastructure complexity: The increasing use of cloud services adds to IT infrastructure complexity as systems are becoming more hybridised and organisations struggle to get equal insight into both on-premise and cloud-based infrastructure. As organisations move to more heterogeneous and complex IT platforms, they are turning to Operational Intelligence to provide the necessary management insight.
The cross-channel customer experience: With 68 per cent of organisations having a ‘high’ or ‘medium’ reliance on the cross channel experience, businesses have to deal with increased volumes of data from these channels including mobile apps, social media and sensor-based devices. Organisations that are reliant on the cross-channel experience are more likely to rely on Operational Intelligence to provide hard-to-gain insight into user behaviour.
Security: The biggest and fastest growing IT management concern in both 2013 and 2015 was security threats through compromise of IT systems. While Operational Intelligence helps conquer complexity, it also leads to greater concerns about IT security as those with insight into the threats they face are less complacent than those who lack such insight.
“Splunk customers gain real value in many areas of their business by harnessing machine data for real-time operational insights,” said Adam Bangle, vice president, EMEA, Splunk. “It is no surprise that organisations with the strongest operational intelligence capability are best equipped to deal with the complexities of the modern IT landscape.”
To learn more, you can complete an online self-assessment to find out how mature your organisation is when it comes to Operational Intelligence, and join Bob Tarzey from Quocirca and Matt Davies, head of marketing, EMEA, Splunk, for an online webinar on Thursday 16th July. Register here.
Methodology: Quocirca surveyed 380 companies in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The full report can be downloaded at http://www.splunk.com/goto/master-of-machines.
