SolarWinds Application Performance End User Survey (Australia)

Application Performance End User SurveyAustralia Findings

Conducted by Redshift ResearchJuly 2014

© 2014 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2

Executive Summary

» Email and Office applications are used daily by 94% and 93% of respondants respectively, and both top the list in being most critical when it comes to doing their job. File sharing applications are also used daily by most respondents (54%).

» 94% of employees said application performance and availability affect their ability to do their job, with over half (53%) reporting that it is absolutely critical. For 65% it has become more important over the past 5 years due to an increase in the time spent using applications, coupled with an increase in their workload and more demanding deadlines.

» 70% of respondents have, at one time or another, experienced an issue with an application that was critical to doing their job

» 81 percent of respondents said they contacted their IT department in the past year due to an application performance or availability issue, with one-third having done so six times or more. .

» Of those who experienced an issue critical to doing their job, 40% are told that the problem is already being worked at least half of the time, while 55% are told less than half the time that the problem is already being worked on.

» 68% of employees expect IT to solve an application performance or availability issue in sixty minutes or less, yet only one-third of users said IT could meet this demand.

» 44% will blame the application itself for the performance or availability issue, and 73% will try to resolve the issue themselves or ask a coworker, only contacting the IT department if unable to resolve the issue.

» 74% of total respondents will wait only up to one hour before contacting IT to report a problem. While 47% claim that the time they wait to contact IT has remained unchanged over the past 5 years, 24% did say that time has decreased.

» Among total respondents, 35% do not know the financial implication caused by slow or unavailable applications.

» The vast majority of respondents will not wait more than one business day for a doctor’s diagnosis (where the fastest response is desired), for a shipping notification for an online purchase or an email response. When it comes to waiting for a news website or online video to load, the majority (68% and 64%, respectively) would wait a maximum of 20 seconds before moving on.


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Software or Applications Used on a Daily Basis

Base: 201 Total

Analytics

Social Media

CRM

Enterprise Resource Planning

Proprietary/Custom

Video or Web-based Conferencing

Collaboration

File Sharing

Office

Email

16%

22%

23%

33%

36%

39%

40%

54%

93%

94%

Q4. On a daily basis, which of the following software or applications do you use at work? (Please select all that apply


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Rating of Applications: Most Critical (10) to Least Critical (1) for Job PerformanceMean Scores

Base: 201 Total

Social Media

Analytics

CRM

Enterprise Resource Planning

Video or Web-based Conferencing

Collaboration

File Sharing

Proprietary/Custom

Office

Email

4.35

4.62

4.75

5.14

5.27

5.58

5.93

6.10

7.90

7.94

Q5.The following are examples of various applications you might use at work. Please rank each application using a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the most critical to doing your job and 1 being the least critical.


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

How Application Performance & Availability Affects Job

Critical to ac-complishing my

job53%

A lack of it makes job more difficult

but not impossible41%

Does not affect my job6%

Base: 201 Total

Q6. How does application performance and availability (for example, applications running slowly, applications being unavailable, connectivity problems, etc.) affect your ability to do your job?


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Over Past 5 Years, how Application Performance & Availability Changed Ability to Perform Job

Has become more important to doing

my job65%

Has become less important

15%

Has not changed my ability to do my job

20%

Base: 201 TotalQ7. Over the past 5 years, how has application performance and availability’s impact on your ability to do your job changed?


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Reasons why Application Performance & Delivery More Important in Past 5 Years

Base: More Important: : 129

Other

Financial and/or business consequences related to my work have increased

I have more flexibility on where and/or when I perform my job functions, so I am expected to be available anytime, anywhere

My workload has increased

I am expected to work faster/complete deadlines sooner

The amount of time I spend using applications to complete my job has increased overall

2%

33%

39%

47%

50%

64%

Q8. Why has application performance and availability become more important in doing your job? (Please check all that apply)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Reasons why Application Performance & Delivery Less Important in Past 5 Years

Base: More Important: 29- caution small base size

The amount of time I spend using applications to complete my job has increased overall

I spend less time using applications to complete my job overall

I now have more application options for doing my job

We have adjusted business processes to minimize the impact

I have more flexibility on where and/or when I perform my job functions, so I can adjust when there are application performance and availability problems

0%

14%

24%

31%

41%

Q9. Why has application performance and availability become less important in doing your job? (Please check all that apply)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Number of Times Contacted IT Dept. in Past Year due to Application Performance and Availability Issues

None10%

1 to 547%

6 to 1024%

11 to 155%

More than 159%

Base: 201 Total

Q10. How many times have you contacted your organization’s IT department in the past year due to application performance and availability issues?

Up to 10 Times: 71%

Balance do not have an IT department (5%)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Whether Ever Experienced Application Performance or Availability Issue Critical to Doing Job

Yes70%

No30%

Base: 201 TotalQ11. Have you ever experienced a performance or availability issue related to one or more of the applications most critical to doing your job?


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Percent of Time Problem already Reported to IT Dept. and being Worked on

100-75%19%

75-50%21%

50-25%29%

25% or less26%

Base: Experienced at least one application or performance issue critical to job: 140

Q12. On average, when you contact your organization’s IT department about a performance or availability issue related to the applications most critical to doing your job, what percentage of the time are you told they are already aware of the problem and/or working to resolve it?

50% or less of the time: 55%

50% to 100% of the time: 40%

Balance do not have an IT department (5%)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Longest Waiting Time Experienced for Problem Resolution


Immediately

Half hour or less

More than a half an hour, less than an hour

An hour

More than an hour

Several hours

One business day

Several business days

More than a week

4%

15%

10%

8%

14%

14%

12%

13%

10%

Q13. What’s the longest you’ve had to wait for a performance and availability issue related to an application critical to performing your job to be resolved?

One Business day to more than one week: 35%

More than one hour but within the same business day: 28%

One hour or less: 37%


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

First to Blame for Problem


Other

User error

Application vendor

Internet service provider

IT department

The application itself

4%

9%

9%

15%

19%

44%

Q14. When you encounter an application performance or availability issue, which of the following do you typically first assume is to blame?


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Satisfaction Level with IT Dept. Response Time with Problem Resolution

Very satisfied21%

Somewhat satisfied58%

Somewhat dissatisfied

15%


Q15. How satisfied are you with your IT department’s response time in resolving application performance and availability issues

Very Dissatisfied 1%

Total Satisfied: 79%

Balance do not have IT Dept. (5%)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Typical Course of Action when Experience Application Problem


Ignore issue hoping it will resolve itself or someone else will report it to the IT

department

Other

Contact IT department immediately

Try to resolve issue myself or ask a coworker, and contact IT department only if I’m unable to resolve the issue

1%

2%

24%

73%

Q16. When you encounter an application performance or availability issue, what is your typical course of action?


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Estimated Cost for Company caused by Slow or Unavailable Applications Critical to Job

Base: 201 Total

Hundreds of dollars of less

Thousands of dollars

Tens of thousands of dollars

Hundreds of thousands of dollars

Millions of dollars

I don’t know

16%

21%

18%

7%

3%

35%

Q17.If you were to equate financial loss based on lost productivity or revenue to one or more of the most critical applications to doing your job being regularly slow or unavailable, how much would it cost your company per year?


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Length of Time Willing to Wait to Contact IT Dept. to Report Problem

Base: 201 Total

Immediately

Half hour or less


An hour

More than an hour

Several hours

One business day


More than a week

24%

33%

11%

6%

10%

3%

2%

0%

0%

Q18. For the applications most critical to doing your job, how long would you typically be willing to wait to contact your organization’s IT department when you encounter an application performance or availability problem?




Balance do not have IT Dept. (5%)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Change in Past 5 Years in Time Willing to Wait to Contact IT Dept.

Decreased significantly7%

Decreased somewhat17%

Remained unchanged47%

Increased somewhat18%

Base: 201 Total

Q19. Over the past 5 years, has the amount of time you would be willing to wait before contacting your organization’s IT department about a performance or availability issue related to the applications most critical to doing your job…..

Increased significantly4%

Balance do not have IT Dept. (5%), and don’t know or did not answer (2%)

Decreased: 24%


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Length of Time Expected to Wait for Problem Resolution

Base: 201 Total

Immediately

Half hour or less


An hour

More than an hour

Several hours

One business day


More than a week

12%

25%

14%

17%

12%

5%

4%

1%

0%

Q20. For the applications most critical to doing your job, how long would you typically expect it to take for your organization’s IT department to resolve a performance or availability problem related to the applications most critical to doing your job?






AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Change in Past 5 Years in Time Willing to Wait for Problem Resolution

Decreased significantly8%

Decreased somewhat19%

Remained unchanged47%

Increased somewhat

15%Increased significantly

3%

Base: 201 Total

Q21. Over the past 5 years, has the amount of time you would be willing to wait for your organization’s IT department to resolve a performance or availability problem related to the applications most critical to doing your job….

Decreased: 27%



AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Length of Time Willing to Wait for….

One hour or less Within the same business day More than one business day

58%

26%

16%

42% 42%

16%

34%

47%

19%

Doctor's Diagnosis

Shipping Notification for Online Purchase

Response to Email Message

Q22. How long would you be willing to wait for a doctor’s diagnosis?Q23. How long would you be willing to wait for notification that an item you purchased online has shipped?Q24. How long would you be willing to wait for someone to respond to an email message before following up or assuming they won’t answer? Base: 201 Total


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Length of Time Willing to Wait for….

1-10 seconds 11-20 seconds 21-30 seconds More than 30 seconds

30%

38%

20%

12%

20%

44%

22%

14%

News Website to Load Before Moving to Alternate Site

Online Video to Load before Moving On

Q25. How long would you be willing to wait for a news website to load before moving on to an alternative site?Q26. How would you be willing to wait for an online video to load and play before moving on? Base: 201 Total

20 seconds or less: 68%

20 seconds or less: 64%


Appendix


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Examples Provided to Respondents for Software or Applications (shortened for reporting purposes)

» Email applications (for example, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, etc.)

» Video or Web-based conferencing applications (for example, Adobe Connect/Defense Connect Online, Cisco WebEx, Citrix, Skype, etc.)

» Office applications (for example, Microsoft Word, Apple Keynote, Google Sheets)

» File sharing applications (for example, Internal/proprietary server or storage, SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)

» Social media applications (for example, HootSuite, Tweetdeck, SocialOomph, etc.)

» Collaboration applications (for example, Microsoft Lync, Confluence, Microsoft Sharepoint, Google Docs, etc.)

» Analytics applications (for example, SAS, Tableau, SiSense, etc.)

» Enterprise resource planning applications (for example, SAP, PeopleSoft, etc.)

» CRM applications (Salesforce Sales Cloud, NetSuite CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.)

» Proprietary/custom business applications (for example, inventory, accounting and logistics applications, etc.)


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Demographics/Corpographics

Male54%

Female46%

Base: 201 Total

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

4%

28%32%

22%14%

Administrative/AssistantClerical

SupervisorProject Manager

ManagerDirector

Managing DirectorVice President/Senior VP/Executive VP

Owner or PartnerOther

19%18%

12%12%

20%3%

1%2%2%

9%

Position


AUSTRALIA RESULTS

Demographics/Corpographics

Base: 201 Total

Accounting/Finance

Communications

Creative

Engineering

IT

Law/Public Affairs

Marketing/Sales

Operations

Procurement

Other

15%

5%

2%

9%

18%

5%

4%

20%

1%

19%

Dept./Function

Less than 10

11 to 19 20-40 41-60 61-99 100-150 151-199 200-299 300-399 400-499 500-599 600-699 700 -799

800-899 900-999 1000-1999

2,000 or more

I Don’t know

9%

3%7% 6% 6% 6% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3%

0% 1% 0% 2%6%

30%

4%

No. Employees

Yes41%No

58%

It's complicated1%

Public sector


Methodology

» Redshift Research conducted this study on behalf of Text 100 and Solarwinds.

» The survey was carried out in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct, which guarantees anonymity to all respondents, and was designed to measure the attitudes of Small Businesses regarding Technology.

» Research was conducted in June, 2014 using an email invitation and an online survey.

» The survey was conducted among 1,816 respondents 18 years of age or older were currently employed in an office environment full time. All were required to use at least one type of computer software application to qualify (including email). No restrictions were placed on the size or type of company where the respondent worked. The study was conducted in the following countries: Australia (n=201), Brazil (n=207), Denmark (n=200), Germany (n=300), Singapore (n=202), US (n=403), and the UK (n=303). In Brazil and Germany, the respondents answered the survey in-language.

» The data were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total populations aged 18 and older. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than between 4.88 and 6.91 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

» Sample was selected from the Crowdology panel. Crowdology™ is an online panel owned and operated by Redshift Research.

The Crowdology™ panel is balanced across regional, age and gender demographic factors, and is nationally representative of the US population. Each respondent completes 120 profiling questions before being accepted to join our panel. Panel Quality Management is carried out frequently to ensure reliable surveys.



The SOLARWINDS and SOLARWINDS & Design marks are the exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC, are registered with the U.S. Patent

and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common law marks, registered or pending registration in the United

States or in other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be or are trademarks or

registered trademarks of their respective companies.