New Data from INAP Shows Pandemic Fueling Infrastructure Migrations, with Essential IT Professionals Leading the Charge

Survey reveals expedited shifts to hybrid infrastructure environments and challenges of facilitating extended remote work

RESTON, VA – December 10, 2020 – Today, hybrid infrastructure solutions provider INAP released the results of its annual State of IT Infrastructure Management survey, which asked 500 IT infrastructure managers and senior technology leaders how the pandemic has impacted their organizations’ current and future plans. The report revealed a significant acceleration of cloud and colocation migrations, with 54 percent stating the pandemic has motivated their organization to move applications and workloads off-premise. Additionally, IT leaders shared that their primary challenges for the upcoming year primarily center around adapting infrastructure and networking strategies for remote work or returns to the office.

Despite heightened pressure, IT pros reported some positive impacts to their roles and departments. Sixty percent believe their organizations will likely be investing more in IT infrastructure as a result of the pandemic, and 62 percent feel more essential and recognized for their critical roles throughout the tumultuous year.

“At every level of the economy and society, IT infrastructure and the professionals tasked with operating it are keeping the world moving in 2020,” said Michael Sicoli, President and CEO of INAP. “The results of our survey indicate that the hybrid infrastructure future is becoming a reality a lot sooner for many organizations. As we enter 2021, the technology challenges presented by remote work and accelerated digital transformation initiatives will remain at the forefront for IT infrastructure managers, and as a result, technology professionals have solidified their position as an essential workforce.”

Additional findings from INAP’s State of Infrastructure Management report include: 

• The pandemic has prompted many organizations to consider moving their workloads to multiple infrastructure platforms: An equal amount (53 percent) say that their organizations are migrating to colocation and hyperscale public cloud environments, with 50 percent also turning to hosted private cloud solutions. This hybrid infrastructure approach is a sign of the times, as many organizations are looking to downsize their on-premise data centers following the shift to remote work.
• Security is top of mind for organizations evaluating infrastructure solution providers. As the popularity of hybrid infrastructure strategies accelerates, IT professionals have been keeping a close eye on increasingly frequent DDoS and ransomware attacks. Consequently, one in three (35 percent) say that network, OS and data security are the most critical qualities they look for in an infrastructure solution.
• IT teams are reevaluating how they approach a remote workforce and a global economy increasingly reliant on digital services: More than half (51 percent) of companies are considering virtual desktop infrastructure solutions to better support a lasting remote work environment. With parts of the country facing new restrictions and lockdowns, and a vaccine on the horizon, IT teams need to be prepared for sudden shifts to or from the office. It’s no surprise that the primary pain points IT teams face for the remainder of the year surround troubleshooting new and changing environments, such as modifying network strategies for the return to an office (or staying permanently remote) and setting up help desk support.
• Despite the troubling times, optimism among IT teams has remained relatively strong: Only three in 10 cite budget or headcount restraints as a top challenge for their team, and six in 10 believe their companies will be investing more into IT infrastructure as the pandemic subsides.

Additional data and analysis can be found in INAP’s State of IT Infrastructure Management report: www.inap.com/it-infrastructure-pandemic-report/

Survey Methodology

The data reflected in this report was derived from a survey of 500 IT infrastructure managers and senior leaders employed full-time at companies in the U.S. with greater than 100 employees. Any employees of cloud and data center service providers were excluded. Commissioned by INAP and facilitated by Pollfish in August 2020, the survey’s margin of error is +/- 5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

For continuing coverage and more data from this survey visit: www.INAP.com/blog.

About INAP

INAP is a global provider of performance-driven, secure hybrid infrastructure solutions, enabling technology leaders to simplify their cloud journeys and accelerate innovation. INAP’s expansive suite of multi-platform cloud, modern data center, optimized network and intelligent managed services solutions help businesses flexibly and reliably move workloads to the right destination at the right time—reducing risk and maximizing value. For more information, visit www.inap.com.

Media Contact

Ryan Hunt
312-380-9183
rhunt@inap.com