An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This saying is as true now as it’s ever been. Maybe more true, given the complexities of modern technologies. Preventing problems before they occur definitely is on the minds of information technology (IT) managers and related professionals — the folks who keep computer and communications systems running and fix them when they break down.

 

That’s the conclusion reached by Aternity (News - Alert), a provider of end-user experience management solutions for Global 1000 enterprises. The company recently conducted a survey of more than 70 senior IT and line-of-business (LOB) professionals to find out what they priorities are this year.

 

Topping the list of front-of-mind issues for survey respondents was preemptive problem detection. More than 35 percent of survey participants said their top priority during 2008 is heading off IT problems before they affect end-users and/or business productivity.

 

Survey respondents also listed the following priorities, in order of importance: virtualization of servers, security, green technology implementations and evaluation of efficient performance for enterprises, and maximization of existing Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) strategies with a focus on reuse.

 

Successful IT management is a multi-pronged task, and this fact was born out in responses to the Aternity survey. Half of the people who participated said three key performance indicators (KPIs) are equally important to ensure optimal end-user experiences. These KPIs are: desktop performance, application performance, and user productivity.

 

Unfortunately, all too often problems are not proactively prevented. More than 73 percent of respondents to Aternity’s survey indicated that 10-75 percent of IT problems aren’t detected by the IT department at all, but instead are discovered by end-users. Needless to say, this is bad for productivity.

 

The need for proactive IT management is growing. In its published survey results report, Aternity quoted Jean Pierre Garbani, an analyst at Forrester Research (News - Alert), as saying that upwards of 30,000 enterprises now house more than 100 servers. Almost half of those enterprises could benefit by deploying end-user experience monitoring solutions. This trend definitely has been observed by Aternity as well.

 

“Every month we are seeing the number of end user experience management inquiries from Global 1000 enterprises rise exponentially,” said Trevor Matz, President and CEO of Aternity, in a statement. “This interest together with our recent announcement of significant global wins in the insurance market, indicates a strong shift in IT and LOB priorities, and further validates that end user experience management software and solutions are being embraced more and more as a key competitive differentiator.”

 

Aternity’s survey brings home the point that preventing problems is less expensive than fixing them after they occur. Enterprises looking to boost efficiency, and vendors that offer end-user experience management solutions, should take note and avail themselves of the opportunities presented.