IT in Malaysia more business-savvy than global average: Avanade research

  • 86% of Malaysian companies say their IT department is contributing more to business
  • 1k C-level execs, business unit leaders and IT decision makers in 19 countries polled
IT in Malaysia more business-savvy than global average: Avanade research

A SURVEY of C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision makers saw 86% of Malaysian companies reporting their IT department is contributing more to accomplishing business objectives than they did three years ago, compared with the global average of 68%.
 
Furthermore, 87% of Malaysian executives reported their IT department has more influence when making technology decisions in the next 12 months, compared with the global average (68% of C-level executives and 63% of business unit leaders globally), according to business technology solutions and managed services provider Avanade.
 
The company did a large-scale global survey on the changing role of IT. The survey was conducted in February 2014 by Wakefield Research, an independent research firm, which polled 1,003 C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision makers at the top companies in 19 countries.
 
These countries were: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
 
The research, compiled in its IT Without Boundaries report, shows IT is playing the roles of business advisors by providing IT best practices and consulting expertise to both internal stakeholders and external partners, Avanade said in a statement.
 
The research also shows a new ‘services broker’ model for IT taking hold in Malaysia. In this model, IT staff consult with departments across the business to better understand their technology needs and objectives, and source internal or external IT services or partners to meet these demands.
 
More than one-third or 38% (35% globally) of companies’ IT departments act primarily as services broker today.
 
Among Malaysian companies whose IT departments are structured this way, 80% report they will expand the role of IT services broker in the next 12 months.
 
What Malaysian business leaders say about their IT department:

  • 95% (83% globally) of respondents said they are comfortable with IT staff interacting directly with important clients and partners in a consultancy role;
  • 76% (71% globally) of C-level executives say the IT department today has ‘an employee-centric culture’; and
  • 87% of companies reported their IT staff value feedback from employees across other departments on technology solutions.

Business leaders in Malaysia want IT to build skills in key areas that will help them source innovative technologies to solve business problems for employees, customers and partners in an increasingly digital world.
 
C-level executives reported a need for more skills in compliance, security and privacy (56%) and service and system integration (51%).
 
“As IT takes on the new role of services broker, Malaysian businesses can expect the influence of IT to grow, new IT skills to be in demand, and new outside partners to drive IT initiatives,” said Ong Ken Teong, country manager, Avanade Malaysia.
 
“Forward-looking companies are positioning their IT staff as business advisors and see IT contributing more to accomplishing objectives, and driving positive business results than ever before.”
 
The research also supports the findings of Accenture’s High Performers in IT: Defined by Digital report, which found that companies with high performing IT organisations invest in IT to deliver strategic capabilities to the business.
 
Avanade is owned by Accenture. To find out more about Avanade’s views on IT Without Boundaries, please visit www.avanade.com/NoITBoundaries.
 
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