SolarWinds IT Professionals Day 2018 Envisions a World Powered by Tech Pros

Annual survey reveals an ambition to be ‘Tech PROactive:’ end users and up-skilling in new technologies are top priorities for tech professionals

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, announced the findings of its IT Pro Day 2018: A World Powered by Tech Pros survey today. The results explore a world where technology professionals have the opportunity to be ‘Tech PROactive;’ in other words, what they would do if they had the time, resources, and ability to use their technology prowess to do anything—from improving IT environments, to global societal challenges, and even their personal lives. The survey supports IT Professionals Day, which is observed on the third Tuesday of every September (September 18, 2018), and intends to emphasize appreciation for IT professionals, the critical role they play in end user’s lives, and in operating a successful, modern business.

“Today’s technology professionals face a tremendous amount of responsibility at work, from one-off user requests and help desk tickets to the expectation of continuous technology implementation,” said Joseph Kim, executive vice president and chief technology officer, SolarWinds. “As a result, they have very little time to dedicate to being Tech PROactive. In honor of all the work they do, we want to celebrate the fourth annual IT Professionals Day by giving tech pros the freedom to explore all the ways they would use their technology aptitude to take their worlds forward—from IT optimization to helping solve societal challenges like environmental sustainability.”

Regardless of the time of day, environment, or their physical location, technology professionals are often the unsung, solutions-based heroes. In honor of all the work they take on to help us, we want to celebrate the fourth annual IT Professionals Day, by sharing insight into what inspires and interests them—including outside the office.

Key Findings

The SolarWinds IT Pro Day 2018 Survey: A World Powered by Tech Pros, explores a world where technology professionals have the time, resources, and ability to use their technology prowess to do anything—from improving their IT environments, to global societal challenges, and even their personal lives. In support of IT Professionals Day, global technology professionals were polled through a series of studies to provide unique insight into what a world powered by tech pros looks like.

In a world powered by technology professionals:

• End users are the top priority.
  • Nearly 70% of tech pros surveyed respond to one-off user requests on a daily basis, and over half (51%) of tech pros respond to help desk tickets on a daily basis.
  • Even when they have time to be proactive at work, researching new technologies that will benefit the end user is still the number one priority (by weighted rank).  

• Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, deep learning, and cloud computing would not only transform IT environments, but the greater good, according to respondents.
  • The top three new technology advancements that tech pros would use to solve challenges within their IT environment if they had more time would be:
    1. AI/machine learning/deep learning
    2. Automation
    3. Cloud (by weighted rank, respectively)
  •  Technology professionals say they would use these technologies to:
    1. Uncover more actionable insights for business leadership
    2. Make repeatable tasks quicker and more accurate
    3. Scale easily and cost effectively by using the public cloud
  • The top three technology advancements that tech pros would use to solve broader societal issues if they had more time to do so would be:
    1. AI/machine learning/deep learning
    2. Big data analysis
    3. Cloud (by weighted rank, respectively)
  • Technology professionals say they would use these technologies to pursue two main societal challenges:
    1. Affordable education, housing, and healthcare for all
    2. Environmental and sustainability initiatives
    
    
• Personal development is top of mind but requires a time commitment outside the traditional workday
  • The top three work-related activities that tech pros would spend their time on if they had one extra hour in the workday:
    • Developing a skillset (41%)
    • Researching new technologies (21%)
    • Planning/strategizing future technology innovation in your IT environment (19%)

• Their IT prowess would also power their personal lives.
  
  • The top three areas outside of work that tech pros would use technology to enhance (by weighted rank):
    1. Home DIY projects
    -- Such as using virtual reality (VR) to visualize a kitchen remodel before implementing changes
    2. Managing finances
    -- By using machine learning (ML) to grow investments and diversify their portfolio
    3. Vacation planning
    -- Such as utilizing cloud-based services to store and link travel data, and using IoT-based devices to generate real-time insights while on-the-go

“In 2017, we revealed that technology professionals are the backbone of our businesses,” Kim added. “This year, we’ve seen this trend continue, with tech pros going above and beyond their responsibilities to explore new technologies and educate themselves further. Forty-one percent of technology professionals shared that they’d continue developing their skillset if they had one more hour in the work day, and 21% shared that they’d spend it researching new technologies. We’re excited to celebrate this fourth annual IT Professionals Day by highlighting their interests—at work and at home—and their dedication to their field.”

Fielded in July 2018, the first of the two surveys was conducted by SolarWinds and yielded responses from 199 technology professionals from across the globe. The second survey was fielded by C White Consulting on behalf of SolarWinds and yielded responses from 180 IT practitioners, managers, and directors in the U.S. and Canada from public- and private-sector small, mid-size, and enterprise companies. Full survey results are available here.

Gamers for Good

In honor of IT Pro Day, SolarWinds is proudly donating to Gamers for Good, in support of their inspiring vision. We hope you contribute too!

Gamers for Good (G4G) is a nationwide charitable organization connecting gamers with service opportunities in their area. G4G also serves as an information source, across the game industry and fandom, of ways gamers can and are giving back to those in need.

“Our mission is to serve as both an example and a resource,” said Liz Cooper, founder/president, Gamers for Good. “Donations like this are vital, allowing us to focus our efforts on helping gamers become givers.”

Visit www.gamersforgood.com for more information.

IT Professionals Day

IT Professionals Day is designed to annually celebrate all IT professionals regardless of discipline. Whereas holidays such as System Administrator Appreciation Day achieve at recognizing one category of the profession, IT Professionals Day honors not only system administrators, but network engineers, database administrators, information security professionals, developers, IT support technicians, and all other professionals serving in IT-related roles. Please visit ITProDay.org to learn more.

Additional Resources

• ITProDay.org
• National Day Calendar: IT Professionals Day
• SolarWinds Establishes IT Professionals Day as Official Holiday

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About SolarWinds
SolarWinds is a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT infrastructure management software. Our products give organizations worldwide, regardless of type, size or IT infrastructure complexity, the power to monitor and manage the performance of their IT environments, whether on-premise, in the cloud, or in hybrid models. We continuously engage with all types of technology professionals—IT operations professionals, DevOps professionals, and managed service providers (MSPs)—to understand the challenges they face maintaining high-performing and highly available IT infrastructures. The insights we gain from engaging with them, in places like our THWACK online community, allow us to build products that solve well-understood IT management challenges in ways that technology professionals want them solved. This focus on the user and commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT performance management has established SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in network management software and MSP solutions. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com.

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