Users frustrated by slow IT change, says Gartner

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Dissatisfaction at the slow rate of IT change in enterprises is set to worsen in the next five years, according to a report from analysts Gartner, as IT departments continue to believe they have to deploy tech uniformly across the business.

The group said half of users will be angry at the slow rate of change by 2013, up from 30 per cent this year, as users get more tech savvy and use more web-based alternatives. Satisfaction will also fall as more younger people – the so-called “digital generation” – move into the workforce and enterprises continue to avoid investing in social software.

Such differences in what individuals require from the IT department means uniform, company-wide deployment not longer works. "What would appear to make life easier for the IT organisation can needlessly raise user dissatisfaction," said Tom Austin, a Gartner vice president and fellow. "Strategies to deploy technology uniformly everywhere often don't work as some users have to wait too long for new technology but technological progress comes too rapidly for others."

Austin said tech adoption inside the corporate world mimics the wider world – some people pick it up faster, while others avoid it, depending on their skills and needs.

"Most organisations will be better off starting with users who are already pining for the new technologies they believe will improve their ability to do their jobs," he said. "If these users are not catered to as a priority then they will source the technology they need from outside of the enterprise."

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