Get your head out of the sand - software and development the way forward

The results of a new global study commissioned by CA Technologies reveals companies focused on software and development outperform companies who aren’t.

The report says those who are investing in new innovation and development capabilities are growing revenue at more than twice the rate of ‘laggards’, creating an application divide in the marketplace.

The study analysed results from a survey of 1,425 senior business leaders across 13 countries.

The study shows these ‘business leaders’ overwhelmingly realised that software and application development is core to their future success. The study found that over 50 percent of companies surveyed either have made, or will make in the next year, an acquisition specifically to add talent and strengthen their development capabilities. 

In addition to revenue growth, ‘leaders’ are experiencing 68 percent higher profit growth and are seeing more than 50 percent new business growth from new products and services.

Among the specific investments being made, the study uncovered innovation is at the core of success, with almost half (49 percent) of ‘leaders’ adopting DevOps methodologies and technologies to speed application delivery, versus only six percent of the ‘laggards’.

The study showed that security is seen as a business enabler, rather than a roadblock to growth. The study says 47 percent of ‘leaders’ were experiencing increased revenue from new services enabled by security. The study predicts that one quarter of all IT spending will be devoted to security over the next three years.

Further results of the study indicated that a key driver of success for ‘leaders’ is the adoption of mobility as an enterprise-wide strategy, with clear evidence of increased customer satisfaction and faster time-to-market. The study says leaders were embracing technology as a business enabler, deploying software to manage their IT investments more strategically and aligned with business goals.

“There is clear evidence that enterprises of all sizes, in all markets, have to embrace the application economy and place software development and delivery at the centre of their business strategy,” says John Michelsen, chief technology officer, CA Technologies.

He says business success is tied to application performance, and the ability of a business to drive growth is no longer just about the product or service they deliver, but increasingly about a complete software-driven experience.

Additional findings of the study include:

• Enterprises responding to the rapid changes brought about by the accelerating application economy are bringing more software development back in-house (from 33 percent to 44 percent).
• 94 percent of Line of Business (LOB) executives are facing increased pressure to release applications more quickly to satisfy consumer demand, with 51 percent of businesses surveyed having released at least four customer-facing applications in the last year alone.
• Despite this rate of application delivery, only 15 percent of LOB executives are completely satisfied with IT’s speed in delivering new applications or services.
• As a result, 88 percent of enterprises surveyed are planning to adopt DevOps to increase application delivery.
• Businesses face internal obstacles in addressing the application economy
  • 25 percent of the senior IT leaders surveyed said that there was a lack of understanding of the impact and benefits of the application economy at the senior level.
  • 26 percent said there was a lack of knowledge and skills.
  • 24 percent said that there were cultural issues.