SECOND ANNUAL

State of
IT
Transformative insights
and growing trends
from over 2,200
global IT Trailblazers

About This ReportState of IT

For the second annual “State of IT” report,
Salesforce Research surveyed more than 2,200
IT leaders worldwide to discover:• The changing role of IT in a customer-driven era• How technologies like artificial intelligence (AI)are advancing business• Which traits divide top IT teams from the rest
In this report, high-performing IT teams are definedas those that rated both their IT performance andperformance versus competitors as excellent. See
page 3 for detailed performance information.
Data in this report is from a blind survey fielded
January–February, 2017, that generated responses
from 2,263 full-time IT leaders (not limited toSalesforce customers) in the U.S., Canada, U.K./
Ireland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan,and Australia/New Zealand. All respondents arethird-party panelists. Due to rounding, not allpercentage totals in this report equal 100%. Allcomparison calculations are made from total
numbers (not rounded numbers).

1,005

753

505

Salesforce Research provides data-driven insights to help
businesses transform how they drive customer success.
Browse all reports at salesforce.com/research.

2

About This ReportState of IT

3

A Closer Look at IT Performance Categories
High-performing IT teams represent 15% of the overall survey population.
For additional demographics, please refer to page 46.

Moderate performers
either rate their performance versus
the competition as above averageor rate their performance versus thecompetition as excellent but not theiroverall IT performance

61%

Underperformers
rate their performance versus
the competition as average,
below average, or poor

High performers
rate their performance versus
the competition and overall IT
performance as excellent

24%

15%

Salesforce Research

Table of ContentsState of IT

Introduction: IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era.........................................................................................................

6

01

Lines Blur between IT and Business Units....................................................................................................

902

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales...................................................................................................

13

03

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed...................................................................................................................

1904

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence........................................................................................

22

Last Look: Priorities of Top IT Teams...........................................................................................................................

25

Country Profiles.............................................................................................................................................................

26

Appendices.....................................................................................................................................................................

35

Survey Demographics..................................................................................................................................................

46

4

Salesforce ResearchExecutive Summary

State of IT

5

Four Key Takeaways
As companies increasingly
adopt customer-centricmodels, IT stands at thecrossroads of change.
Business units like sales,customer service, andmarketing turn to IT as a
strategic partner.

Meanwhile, IT juggles theshift toward digitaltransformation and customer
experience initiatives, pushing
to deliver deeper levels of
engagement, connection,and innovation.

01

Lines Blur between IT and Business Units(See page 9)

Most IT leaders agree that the industry is experiencing the biggest historical shift of its role. IT ischanging from a cost center focused on infrastructure to a value-based service brokerage enabling
business transformation. Today, IT is the central nervous system driving business success, partneringwith departments to orchestrate experiences with connected data sources and new capabilities.

02

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales(See page 13)

The battle between innovating and “keeping the lights on” is nothing new for IT leaders, yet thebusiness’ appetite for innovation grows stronger by the minute. Top teams are more likely to say
it’s a critical priority to innovate not only for differentiation but for industry disruption. At thesame time, tech leaders are faced with critical skill gaps among staff in nearly every area of IT.

03

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed(See page 19)

Speed is a huge factor for IT teams; it’s cited among top priorities, key performance indicators, andchallenges. To improve speed, IT leaders are exploring low-code solutions (high performers even moreso) — but hesitate to put business users in the driver’s seat due to security concerns and insufficient
governance or training. Still, most IT leaders plan to give business users some app-building capabilities,
even if only on a limited basis.

04

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence(See page 22)

Customers and employees alike have big expectations for the impact of intelligent technologies.
However, not all IT teams are equal when it comes to their sense of urgency — or preparedness — for
AI-related tech transformations. High performers plan to take advantage of these capabilities sooner
than their underperforming peers and implement them across the business. Sales has an even moreaggressive stance on implementing AI — indicating that IT may need to play catch-up to some of theircounterparts when it comes to the impact of these technologies.

Introduction

State of IT

6

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era
IT has entered a new era transformed by customer
expectations. Seventy percent of consumers saytechnology has made it easier than ever totake their business elsewhere, and 58% agree
that tech has significantly changed their
expectations of how companies shouldinteract with them. These shifts put pressure
on IT teams to not only improve customer-facing
tech, but transform it. Related sales, service, andmarketing studies in the past year have shown
macro-realignment around changing customer
expectations and the ensuing competitive
landscape.

IT Makes a Big Move Toward the Customer Experience
With sales, service, and marketing units pushing hard on customer experience initiatives,
IT is keenly aware of the shift toward customer-centric operations.

1

2

93%

81%

believe IT is enteringa new era driven bycustomer expectations

79%

believe IT is theprimary enabler of customer
experience initiativesof high-performing IT leaders
see themselves as the primary enabler ofcustomer experience initiatives, versus
64% of underperformers.

As the enabler of customer experience, IT plays acritical partnership role for other business units.
Without IT as the backbone, these departments
fall flat on powering crucial customer experience
initiatives.

1
2“State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016.
“State of Marketing,” “State of Sales,” and “State of Service,” Salesforce Research, 2016–2017.

Salesforce ResearchIntroduction

State of IT

7

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era
While much of IT’s work happens behind thescenes, their efforts are at the forefront ofcustomer interactions — for instance, improving
data management capabilities to enableproactive customer engagement. Some IT
teams are content to merely improve customerfacing tech, but high-performing teams take agreater interest in transforming it — which could
mean introducing new capabilities, overhaulingsystems, or connecting systems of record withsystems of engagement.
While 81% of all IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation (up from 75%
in 2016), high-performing teams are 2.8x more
likely than underperformers to say transforming
customer-facing technology is a critical priority.

Top IT Teams Focus on Transforming Customer Tech
Customers’ first interactions with companies often happen via some form of technology,
whether web or mobile. Top IT teams are hyperfocused on transforming tech to provide
the best possible experiences.
High performers
Moderate performers
Underperformers

80%

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

1.6x

67%

more likely to say transforming
customer-facing technology is a
critical or high priority

51%

Salesforce ResearchSpotlight

State of IT

8

Employee Tech Is a Rising Priority
Customers aren’t the only ones with heightened
expectations. The consumer demand for mobilefirst, connected, and personalized experiences is
seeping over into what employees want fromtheir workplaces. Seventy-one percent of
employees want their companies to provide
them with the same level of technology as
they use in their personal lives.

Employee Satisfaction Gathers Steam as a KPI
A majority of teams take employee satisfaction scores into account when measuring theirsuccess. Additionally, they’re looking beyond satisfaction on their own teams to ensure better
digital experiences for employees across the business.

3

A majority of IT teams say employee satisfaction
scores are a very important success metric.
They’ve also seen a rising level of importanceplaced on the employee experience over the
past two years.
This trend is even more apparent among top
teams. High-performing IT teams are 2.8x more
likely than underperformers to strongly agree
that digital employee experience-related projects
are a higher priority compared to two years ago.

3

 tate of the Connected Customer survey, Salesforce Research, June 2016. Data may
Sor may not be represented in the “State of the Connected Customer” report.

70%

of IT leaders say that
employee satisfaction scores are a
critically or very important KPI78%

of IT leaders say that projects
related to digital employee
experience are a higher priority
compared to two years ago

Salesforce Research

01Lines Blur between IT and Business Units

In the customer-driven era, IT can no longer
function separately from business strategy andexecution. IT has become the central nervous
system driving business success, playing a keyrole in how business units leverage customer
data and streamline cross-departmental
processes (e.g., service teams upselling, sales
and marketing collaborating, etc.).

9

IT Takes the Center Stage of Company Strategy
Most agree that IT is changing from cost center to value-based service brokerage, serving
as a key partner for business units to execute on customer-centric strategies.

As such, the role of CIO is fundamentallychanging to the role of business leader.

71%

of IT organizations are
shifting efforts from being atechnology-providing costcenter to a value-based service
brokerage over the next
12–18 months

75%

of technology leaders say
IT is currently in the midst of the biggest
historical shift of its role.

Instead of being viewed as a cost center, IT isemerging as a value-based service brokerage.
That is, the old model of IT as a maintainer ofthe status quo infrastructure is giving way to
a new mindset, in which IT adds innovative
capabilities that bring a competitive edge tothe business. Seventy-four percent of IT leaders
say the business teams they partner with believe
IT is the biggest driver of business success.

State of IT

Top Challenges for IT Teams Transitioning into a Value-Based Service Brokerage

1
2Legacy infrastructure and platforms
Lack of staff skills/expertise to become value-based service providers

Salesforce Research

01Lines Blur between IT and Business Units

One of the primary ways that IT teams aremeasuring success as service brokerages is basedon business satisfaction scores. Despite 74%
of IT leaders identifying business satisfaction
scores as a leading key performance indicator(KPI), IT teams are only able to deliver on 56%
of customer-facing business initiatives, on
average. In other words, nearly half of theserequests fielded by IT teams go unfulfilled.
To identify and prioritize the projects with thebiggest business impact, IT teams are focusing onalignment across the organization. Sixty-sevenpercent of IT teams say improving theircollaboration with other lines of business isa high priority, making it the second highest
ranked in the category (second only to improving
security policies and practices).

State of IT

10

IT Now Functions as an Extension of Business Units
To succeed in the customer-driven era, IT teams are partnering with business units toboth unify and accelerate efforts.

77%of IT leaders believe IT
functions as an extension/
partner of business units rather
than as a separate function

Salesforce Research

01Lines Blur between IT and Business Units

No matter how many business units exist within
a company, customers see only one organization.
They want all of their interactions — whether withsales, service, or marketing — to be consistent.
That’s why IT must consolidate customer data
into a single source of truth. Sixty-one percentof IT leaders say providing a single view of
the customer is a high priority over the next
12–18 months; high performers are 3.2x
more likely than underperformers to rate
this as a critical priority.
High-performing IT teams are also at least 3.6x
more likely than underperformers to rate thestrength of their partnerships (with service,
marketing, and sales) as excellent.

State of IT

11

Aligning Priorities across Business Units Helps IT Excel
While there’s a substantial divide between the share of high-performing and underperforming
IT teams that excel at cross-departmental priority alignment, there’s room still for top tech leaders
to get on the same page as their business unit partners.
Percentage of IT Leaders Who Excel at Aligning Strategic Priorities
across Business UnitsHigh performers

44%

4.0x

more likely

Moderate performers
Underperformers

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

23%
11%

Salesforce ResearchSpotlight

State of IT

12

Challenges Hinder a Single View of the Customer
Despite the fact that having a single view of thecustomer is a high priority for so many IT leaders,
only 29% say they’ve integrated 75% ormore of their data sources.
This is likely due to the highly distributed natureof customer data. With data housed in multiple
legacy systems and lacking a consistent security
model, it’s difficult for IT to gain visibility in aconsistent way.
The top inhibitors to gaining a shared single viewof the customer are security/privacy concerns,
hard-to-integrate legacy systems, and lack ofvisibility into where data is stored. IT leaders on
average say they don’t directly control 42% ofenterprise technology. Technology that exists
outside of IT’s governance is a key factor
contributing to lack of data visibility.
Improving security policies and practices remains
the top critical priority for IT teams over the next
12–18 months, unsurprisingly, since this isfoundational to customer trust and building
deeper relationships.

Lack of Data Visibility Inhibits IT TeamsAs IT teams try to bring data together for a shared single view of the customer, they’re hinderedby hard-to-integrate legacy systems and lack of data visibility.

Top Inhibitors IT Organizations Face When Trying to Integrate
Data Sources for a Shared Single View of Customer Data*

1

Security/privacy concerns

2

Hard-to-integrate legacy systems

3

Lack of visibility into where data is stored* Partial list of responses.

Salesforce Research

02

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

With IT’s increased focus on business value,
it’s no surprise that innovation is a top priority
for tech leaders. But while 65% of IT teams say
innovation for competitive differentiation is ahigh priority, innovating for the business isthe number one challenge for IT teams tomeeting their strategic objectives.
The battle between innovating and “keeping
the lights on” is nothing new for IT leaders,
yet the business’ appetite for better, moredifferentiated capabilities grows stronger by
the minute. Fifty-seven percent of consumers
say it’s absolutely critical or very important forcompanies they purchase from to be innovative.

4

Top teams say it’s even more vital to innovate forindustry disruption, pushing the boundaries ofchange for radical solutions.

State of IT

13

IT Leaders Innovate to Compete
In an era when a majority of consumers say it’s very important for companies they purchasefrom to be innovative, IT teams likewise feel they’re competing on the basis of innovation.

65%of IT leaders say innovation forcompetitive differentiation is a
critical or high priority

56%

of IT leaders say
innovation for industry
disruption is a
critical or high priority

High Performers vs. Underperformers

3.5X

more likely to say innovation
for industry disruption is a critical priority

4“State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016.

Salesforce Research

02

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

Even with all the talk of prioritizing innovation,
IT leaders still spend more time on tasks thatkeep the lights on (54% of their time, on
average). A majority of IT leaders are moving
to automate routine tasks so their teams havemore time to innovate.
Legacy technology and critical skill gaps
also contribute to IT’s innovation deficit(see page 18 for more). More than half(52%) of IT leaders cite legacy technology
as a major challenge to meeting theirstrategic objectives.

State of IT

14

IT Carves Out Time for Innovation
IT leaders recognize that their teams need more time to innovate. Many are putting systems
and processes in place to automate basic tasks, giving their teams the time that’s requiredfor innovative thinking.

81%of IT organizations will
increasingly automate tasks
to allow team members tofocus on innovation over the
next 12–18 months

Salesforce Research

02

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

While IT leaders grapple with legacy technology
today, they’re looking ahead to the technologies
with potential to transform business in the nearterm. The top three technologies expected tohave the most transformational business impact
by 2020 are cloud computing, AI, and mobile
technologies for customers.
Zeroing in on cloud computing, 83% of IT
leaders say they feel more comfortable with theirknowledge of cloud security than they did five
years ago. Another 65% plan on increasingdata stored in the cloud over the next
12–18 months.

State of IT

15

Cloud, AI, and Mobile Ranked as Most Likely to Reinvent Business
The top three technologies expected to have the most transformational business impact by2020 are cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and mobile technologies for customers.

Top Technologies Expected to Have a Transformational Impact on Business by 2020*

1

Cloud computing

2

Artificial intelligence3

Mobile technologies for customers* Partial list of responses. For the complete list, see page 43.

Salesforce Research

02

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

In a service brokerage model, success depends
on a thorough understanding of business units’
needs. IT teams see that the business units they
partner with are prioritizing technologies that aid
in three primary areas:• Intelligence• Speed• Agility (see page 17)
Top IT teams see that business units are moving
beyond the basics of cloud. These teams display
a keen interest in newer areas of tech — from IoT
and AI to low-code development.
Although AI is a relative newcomer, it’s considereda critical/high priority by nearly as many top IT
teams as cloud computing, making it a hot topic
for high performers.

State of IT

16

Business Units Seek Tech for Intelligence, Speed, and Agility
The biggest differences emerge between high performers and low performers around high-impact
tech like AI and low-code development. Continued on page 17.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Say Lines of Business View
the Following Technologies as a Critical or High Priority

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

Intelligence

Business intelligence (BI)/analytics

39%

Internet of Things (IoT)/connected
products

32%

47%

46%

27%

76%

1.9x

more likely

76%

55%

36%

Artificial intelligence (AI)Conversational interfaces/bots

62%

2.1x

more likely

70%

2.2x

more likely

64%

2.4x

more likely

Speed
Business process automation(e.g., marketing automation,
sales automation)
Low-code/visual development (e.g.,
point-and-click/visual app-building
tools for non-tech/business users)

41%

30%
High performers

74%

58%

49%

1.8x

more likely

71%

Moderate performers

2.4x

more likely
Underperformers

02

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

In addition to prioritizing intelligence and speed,business units turn to IT for solutions to improvetheir agility in order to keep up with customer
expectations.
Top teams are more interested in mobile techfor employees and customers, as well as
collaboration technologies to improve theirreal-time communication.

State of IT

17

Business Units Seek Tech for Intelligence, Speed, and Agility (Cont.)
Core technologies like cloud, mobile, and analytics remain a high priority for all teams.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Say Lines of Business View
the Following Technologies as a Critical or High Priority

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

Agility

It seems companies are relying on IT morethan ever to deliver faster, smarter experiences
for customers and employees alike.
Cloud computing

50%

Mobile technologies for employees

44%

Collaboration technology (e.g., internalsocial apps, messenger apps)

39%Enterprise content management (ECM)35%High performers

54%

1.6x

more likely

2.1x

more likely

60%

57%

79%

77%

57%

36%

Mobile technologies for customers

66%

75%

1.7x

more likely

72%

1.9x

more likely

70%

Moderate performers

2.0x

more likely
Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchSpotlight

State of IT

18

IT Faces Critical Skill Gaps in Nearly Every Area
IT organizations are facing critical skill gaps innearly every domain. This not only contributes
to their challenges around innovation, but also
to their difficulties meeting day-to-day demandsof the business.

Skill Gaps Loom for IT Leaders

The current gaps — highest in the areas of mobile
development and security — already pose
problems for IT teams. The projected outlook
trends in an unfortunate direction, with anticipatedskill gaps growing larger across the board.

Percentage of IT Organizations That Are Currently Experiencing
or Anticipate Skill Gaps in the Following Areas

Over the next two years, IT leaders have growing
concerns about the skill gaps widening in fullstack development, IoT, data science, and mobile.
While the rapid rise of AI and connected devices
creates gaps around IoT and data science skills,
mobile skills are also anticipated to lag behind in
the mobile-native era.
Even the area that ranks highest for “no skill
gap” is considerably low; only 22% say there’s
no gap in business domain knowledge.

IT leaders are already dealing with the impact of the skills gap. Looking ahead, many expect thesegaps will only increase over the next two years.

Internet of Things (IoT)/connected devices

Data science

Mobile development

Full-stack development
Application programming interfaces (APIs)/
systems integration

Development operations (DevOps)

Security

Business domain knowledge

26%

22%

35%

26%

20%

35%

27%

21%

33%

23%

21%

37%

25%

20%

35%

23%

21%

35%

27%
22%

20%
21%

32%
34%

Current short-term skill gap

Current skill gap that is also
anticipated to continue

Not current skill gap, but
anticipated within two years

No skill gap
Salesforce Research

03

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

The topic of speed is everywhere for IT teams. It
not only appears in top priorities (improving the
speed of development cycles) and KPIs (speedof application/project delivery), but also ranks
among the top challenges (the speed at which IT
can complete projects). While IT teams strive forfaster development and delivery, they haven’t
cracked the code just yet.
Only 45% of IT leaders can design/prototype
an app per business requirements in under amonth, and 47% can deploy an app in undera month. While such timelines may have been
lofty goals a few years ago, they increasingly
represent targets for IT teams to hit in order tomeet customers’ constantly evolving expectations.

State of IT

19

Improving Speed Is a High Priority
While speed of development and delivery is a high priority and important KPI, IT teams say
the speed at which they can complete projects is the second biggest challenge to meetingstrategic objectives.

76%of IT leaders say speed ofapplication/project delivery is a
critically or very important KPI

67%

of IT leaders say improving
the speed of development cycles
is a critical or high priority

Salesforce Research

03

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

Because of the demands for speed, relatively
few IT organizations plan to increase time- andresource-intensive full-stack development (49%over the next 12–18 months). Instead, moreteams are exploring low-code solutions. Nearlynine out of 10 IT leaders (88%) are already usingor plan to use low-code solutions over the next
12–18 months. IT leaders agree that low-code
development will help not only with speed but also
productivity, allowing tech staff to concentrate on
more strategic initiatives and innovations.

State of IT

20

Low-Code Lightens the Load for IT Developers
IT leaders see low-code development as a means of allowing tech staff to concentrate on
more strategic initiatives and innovations.

5High-performing IT teams especially
understand the importance of improving
the speed of development lifecycles; they’re
2.9x more likely to say it’s a critical priority
over the next 12–18 months.

588%

of IT leaders currently useor plan to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

Low-Code Snapshot Survey, Salesforce Research, February 2017.

Salesforce ResearchSpotlight

State of IT

21

Citizen Developers’ Potential Grows
IT is beginning to explore citizen development(i.e., business users creating apps using
IT-sanctioned development environments)
as another means of improving productivity andaccelerating development. But before citizen
developers can reach their full potential, there are
deployment considerations to address. IT leaders
express concerns about IT governance andadequate training programs for business users
and other nondevelopers. Only 24% strongly
agree they have IT governance processes inplace for nondevelopers to build apps, and
29% strongly agree they have adequate
training programs in place.
6

Still, most IT leaders plan to give business users
some app-building opportunities, even if on alimited basis.

74%

of IT leaders plan toincreasingly shift some applicationbuilding responsibilities to business
users over the next 12–18 months.

IT Sees Citizen Development as a Way to Improve Speed
IT leaders are looking to citizen developers as a way to increase staff productivity and improve
development speed.

Top Factors Influencing IT’s Plan to Provide Business Users
with the Tools to Build Apps Themselves*

1
2
3
4
5

Increase productivity of existing IT staff

Increase development speed

Provide new ways for IT to partner with the business

Allow technical staff to concentrate on more complex tasks/initiatives

Bridge gap between business requirements and technical execution* Partial list of responses.

6

Low-Code Snapshot Survey, Salesforce Research, February 2017.

Salesforce Research

04

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence

Customers and employees alike have big
expectations for the impact of AI. Three-quartersof business buyers (and 51% of consumers)
expect that by 2020, companies will anticipate
their needs and make relevant suggestions before
they contact them. Among employees, 65%
agree that AI automating or assisting in workrelated activities will have a major or moderate
impact on daily work life at their organization
by 2020.
7

While they’re well aware of the rapid rise in AI
interest, IT teams aren’t fully prepared for its rolein their organizations. Only 20% of IT leaders
say that their technology plans regarding AI are
comprehensively defined, and 23% say thesame for their AI business plans.

High Performers vs. Underperformers

2.9X

more likely to strongly agree
they have a comprehensive plan forthe business strategy around the useof emerging technologies

7“State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016.

State of IT

22

IT Defines AI Plans in Response to Growing Demand
As the AI wave continues to gain momentum, IT teams begin to solidify their plans for
implementation. While many tech teams are actively defining AI plans, less than a quarter
have comprehensively mapped their path forward.
Percentage of IT Leaders Who Say Their Plans for Artificial
Intelligence Are Comprehensively Defined
Our company’s artificial
intelligence business plans
Our company’s artificial
intelligence technology plans

23%
20%

04

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence

Over the next 12–18 months, IT plans toprimarily implement AI on a departmental scale.
With this strategy, IT can see what works ona limited basis before rolling out across thebusiness. For instance, they may test an AI
component within the sales department’s
customer relationship management systembefore extending it to other business units.
In a separate survey of sales, service, andmarketing leadership, the top three data sources
ranked as critically or very important to theircompany’s AI strategy were CRM systems,
data warehouses, and social platforms. But
confidence in implementation is lacking;
only 25% feel completely confident in thetechnical skillset of employees to executean AI business strategy.

State of IT

23

AI Plans Begin to Turn into Actions
Among IT leaders who say they’re using or piloting AI, 37% are implementing or planningto implement AI on a departmental level over the next 12–18 months.

Extent to Which Companies Using or Planning to Use AI Will Implement
It over the next 18 Months
Our company’s artificial
intelligence business plans

22%

34%
37%

Companywide implementation
Departmental implementation
Project-based implementation/experimentation

8

High Performers vs. Underperformers

1.9X

more likely to have already
implemented or plan on broadly
implementing AI across the enterpriseover the next 12–18 months

8

AI Snapshot Survey, Salesforce Research, February 2017.

Salesforce Research

04

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence

All this adds up to IT teams anticipating 30%
growth in AI use over the next 12–18 months.
However, some of IT’s partner business units
have an even greater appetite for AI. Sales teams,
for example, have a more aggressive stance on
AI implementation, indicating that IT may needto play catch-up to some of their counterparts
when it comes to the impact of intelligent
technologies.
This gap in anticipated growth underscores theimportance of IT becoming more aligned withbusiness units, particularly during this transition
into an intelligent era.

State of IT

24

IT and Sales Teams Both Expect Near-Term AI Growth
IT teams, looking to the broadest applications of AI across the business, expect AI use to jump 30%.
Sales teams have an even more aggressive view on the anticipated use of AI in their department,emphasizing the need for alignment with IT.
Anticipated Growth in AI Usage by Each Department over the next 12–36 Months.9
140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

9

“State of Sales,” Salesforce Research, November 2016.

Sales teams anticipate
IT teams anticipate

30%

growth in AI over the
next 12–18 months

139%

growth in AI that automatically
recommends products to customers
based on their preferences within
36 months

Salesforce ResearchLast Look

State of IT

25

Priorities of Top IT Teams
This report highlights many ways inwhich high-performing IT teams areoperating differently from the pack.
Our research revealed that these
top teams have a trifecta of criticalpriorities — creating an overlapping
relationship between innovating for
disruption, gaining a single view of
their customers, and improving theemployee experience.

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

3.5x

more likely to rateinnovation for industry
disruption a critical priority

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

4.4x

more likely to rate
improving theemployee experiencea critical priority

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

3.2x

more likely to rate
providing a single
view of the customer
a critical priority

Salesforce ResearchState of IT

26

Country Profiles
Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

27

United States (500 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

91%will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation89%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

69% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

87% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

87% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

94%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

75% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
84%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

81%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

71%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

74% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

59% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

34% next 12–18 months (61% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

28

Canada (253 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

79%will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation

85%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

60% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

79% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

77% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

84%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

66% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
79%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

79%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

63%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

56% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

47% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

33% next 12–18 months (51% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

29

France (250 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

79%will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation80%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

60% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

79% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

75% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

91%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

62% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
75%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

68%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

68%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

62% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

51% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

33% next 12–18 months (57% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

30

Germany (254 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

81%will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation76%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

70% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

75% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

77% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed89%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

74% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
66%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

77%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

70%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

67% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

60% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

41% next 12–18 months (59% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

31

Netherlands (250 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

82%

will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation

85%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

79% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

84% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

83% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed95%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

85% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
83%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

74%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

77%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

80% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

78% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

12% next 12–18 months (86% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

32

United Kingdom/Ireland (251 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

85%will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation81%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

56% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

85% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

81% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

86%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

71% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
77%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

77%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

64%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

63% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

47% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

35% next 12–18 months (51% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

33

Australia/New Zealand (250 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

81%will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation81%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

70% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

84% expectations over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

80% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed89%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

75% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
78%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

75%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

64%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

69% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

65% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

17% next 12–18 months (75% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchCountry Profile

State of IT

34

Japan (255 IT professionals)
The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era

62%believe IT organizations are leading thebusiness in digital transformation

62%

believe IT is entering a new era driven by customer

54% critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

70% expectations over the next 12–18 months

will increasingly automate tasks to allow team members
to focus on innovation over the next 12–18 months

say innovation for competitive differentiation is abelieve IT is the primary enabler of

65% customer experience initiatives

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed

71%
Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
believe IT is transitioning from a technology-providing cost center

56% to a value-based service brokerage over the next 12–18 months
64%

believe IT functions as an extension/partner ofbusiness units rather than as a separate function

currently use or plan
to use low-code
development in thenext 12–18 months

72%

say speed of application/project delivery
is a critically or very important KPI

55%

say improving the speed of development
cycles is a critical or high priority over the
next 12–18 months

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
believe artificial intelligence will have a transformationalsay improving IT’s collaboration with lines of business

57% is a critical or high priority over the next 12–18 months

46% or substantial impact on their business by 2020

anticipate growth in artificial intelligence use over the

44% next 12–18 months (45% currently report using AI)

Salesforce ResearchState of IT

35

Appendix
Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

36

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era
A majority (84%) of IT leaders say they have a clear understanding of changing customer expectations; however,underperformers struggle to lead their organizations in this effort. Top IT teams are 1.4x more likely than underperformers
to say IT is the primary enabler of customer experience initiatives and is leading the business in digital transformation.
Percentage of IT Leaders Who Strongly Agree or
Agree with the Following Statements

IT is entering a new era driven bycustomer expectations

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

69%

IT is the primary enabler of customer
experience initiatives

64%

Tech leadership is leading the businessin digital transformation

66%

Customer experience-related projects
are higher priority compared to two
years ago

66%
High performers

Moderate performers

94%
83%

93%
82%

91%
85%
88%
81%

1.4x

more likely

1.4x

more likely

1.4x

more likely

1.3x

more likely

Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

37

IT Enters a Customer-Driven Era
The highest-performing teams understand that success starts from within. High-performing IT teams are 1.4x more
likely than underperformers to say employee satisfaction scores are a critically or very important KPI.

High performers
Moderate performers
Underperformers

82%
High Performers vs.
Underperformers

71%

1.4x

more likely to say
employee satisfaction scores are a
critically or very important KPI

60%

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

38

Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
Legacy infrastructure and platforms is the top challenge IT teams face in transitioning from a technology-providing
cost center to a value-based service brokerage. Top IT teams are 1.4x more likely than underperformers to say they’remaking the shift over the next 12–18 months.

High performers
Moderate performers
Underperformers

84%
High Performers vs.
Underperformers

73%

1.4x

more likely to say they’reshifting efforts from being atechnology-providing cost center
to a value-based service brokerageover the next 12–18 months

59%

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

39

Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
A successful IT strategy depends on alignment and collaboration. High-performing IT teams are 1.9x more
likely than underperformers to rate their alignment across lines of business as excellent or above average.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Strongly Agree or
Agree with the Following
Believe IT functions as an extension/
partner of business units rather
than a separate function

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

64%
High performers

Moderate performers

88%
79%
Underperformers

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Rate the Followinga Critical or High Priority

Improving IT’s collaboration withlines of businessHigh Performers vs.
Underperformers

55%
High performers

1.4x

more likely

79%
69%

Moderate performers

1.4x

more likely

Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

40

Lines Blur between IT and Business Units
Top teams see the importance of partnerships. High-performing IT organizations have stronger relationships
with their service, sales, and marketing counterparts.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Assess Their Partnerships
and Alignment as Excellent or Above Average

Alignment of strategic priorities
across lines of businessHigh Performers vs.
Underperformers

75%

47%

Overall partnership with the business

79%

59%

Partnership with sales

74%

47%

Partnership with marketing

48%
High performers

72%

Moderate performers

1.9x

more likely

77%

51%

Partnership with service

89%

93%

1.8x

more likely

93%

88%

1.6x

more likely

1.9x

more likely

87%

1.8x

more likely

Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

41

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales
Innovation matters. High-performing IT teams are more likely to innovate to stand apart from the competition
and to disrupt their industry.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Rate the Following a Criticalor High Priority over the next 12–18 Months

Innovation for competitive
differentiation

51%

Innovation for industry disruption

41%
High performers

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

67%

57%

Moderate performers

83%

1.6 x

more likely

76%

1.9 x

more likely
Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

42

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales
IT leaders are turning to automation. In order to improve efficiencies and make more time for their teams to innovate,
IT leaders will ramp up automation.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Strongly Agree or
Agree with the Following

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

IT will increasingly automate tasks
to allow team members to focus on
innovation over the next 12–18 months

68%
High performers

Moderate performers

90%
84%
Underperformers

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Rate the Following
KPI as Critically Important or Very Important

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

Percentage of business processes
automated

53%
High performers

81%
68%

Moderate performers

47%
High performers

1.5 x

more likely

Underperformers

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Rate the Following Tech
Plans as Mostly Defined or Comprehensively DefinedBusiness process automation(e.g., marketing automation, sales
automation)

1.3 x

more likely

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

64%

Moderate performers

77%

1.6 x

more likely
Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

43

The Innovation Imperative Tips the Scales
IT leaders believe cloud computing will have the most transformational impact on their business and operations by 2020.
Sixty-four percent of IT leaders say cloud computing is prioritized as the top technology by lines of business; however, only 31% saytheir plans for cloud computing are comprehensively defined.
Ranking of Technologies That Will Have a Transformational
Impact on Business/Operations by 2020

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Cloud computing

Artificial intelligence (AI)Mobile technologies for customers

64%of IT leaders
say cloud computing is a
critical priority or high priority
for lines of businessat their company

Internet of Things (IoT)/connected
products

Mobile technologies for employees

Business process automation (e.g.,marketing automation, sales automation)

Conversational interfaces/bots

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Say Their Plans for
Cloud Computing Are Comprehensively or Mostly Defined
Our company’s cloudcomputing technology plans
Our company’s cloudcomputing business plans

69%
66%

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

44

IT Tackles the Struggle for Speed
Across the board, IT leaders understand that the inability to deliver timely projects impacts the business’ bottom line.
IT organizations continue to struggle with meeting their commitments, rating it the second biggest challenge to reaching strategic
objectives. Meanwhile, underperformers also don’t see a strong desire from lines of business to prioritize low-code development.
Percentage of IT Leaders Who Rate the Following
KPI as Critically Important or Very Important

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

80%
78%
69%

Speed of application/
project delivery
High performers

Moderate performers

Underperformers

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Rate the Following
as a Critical Priority or High Priority

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

Improving speed ofdevelopment cycles overthe next 12–18 months

53%
High performers

69%

Moderate performers

82%

30%
High performers

49%

1.3 x

more likely
Underperformers

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Say Lines of Business Ratethe Following as a Critical Priority or High Priority
Low-code/visual development (e.g.,
point-and-click/visual app-building
tools for non-tech/business users)

1.2 x

more likely

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

71%

Moderate performers

2.4 x

more likely
Underperformers

Salesforce ResearchAppendix

State of IT

45

IT Prepares for the Flood of Artificial Intelligence
Top IT teams have more defined plans for AI. High performers’ use of AI over the next 18 months is more likely
to be on a company-wide or departmental basis.

Percentage of IT Leaders Who Say Their Plans for Artificial
Intelligence Are Comprehensively or Mostly Defined
Our company’s artificial intelligence
technology plans

55%

38%

Our company’s artificial intelligencebusiness plans

37%
High performers

High Performers vs.
Underperformers

72%

1.9 x

more likely

76%

54%

2.1 x

more likely

Moderate performers

Underperformers

Extent to Which Companies Are Implementing or Plan to Implement
Artificial Intelligence over the next 18 Months
High performers

Moderate performers

Underperformers

36%

46%

38%

34%

24%

15%

36%

21%

31%

Companywide implementation
Departmental implementation
Project-based implementation

Salesforce ResearchState of IT

46

Survey Demographics
Salesforce ResearchSurvey Demographics

State of IT

47

Industry

Country

Role Within IT

High tech.................................................................26%
Manufacturing and wholesale...........................13%
Financial services...................................................11%
Consumer products and retail...........................10%
Professional services............................................... 7%
Healthcare and life sciences................................. 6%
Engineering, construction, real estate................. 6%
Communications.................................................... 5%
Education.................................................................. 3%
Energy........................................................................ 3%
Public sector............................................................. 3%
Automotive............................................................... 3%
Media and entertainment..................................... 2%
Hospitality, travel, transportation......................... 2%
Agriculture and mining.......................................... 1%
Other.......................................................................... 1%

United States..........................................................22%
United Kingdom/Ireland.....................................11%
Germany.................................................................11%
Canada....................................................................11%
France......................................................................11%
Japan.......................................................................11%
Netherlands............................................................11%
Australia/New Zealand........................................11%

Director, manager, or equivalent........................38%
SVP or VP of tech or equivalent.........................11%
CIO, CDO, CTO, or other tech exec..................33%
CEO, owner, or equivalent...................................17%

Company Size
Small (1–100 employees).................................................17%
Medium (101–3,500 employees)......................................67%
Enterprise (3,501+ employees)........................................16%

Generation
Baby Boomers/traditionalists.............................10%
Gen Xers..................................................................51%
Millennials...............................................................39%* Multi-response question.

Region
EMEA.......................................................................44%
NAM.........................................................................33%
APAC........................................................................22%

Apps Being Developed

Functional Area Overseen*
Software/app development...............................56%
Software/app testing............................................47%
Network engineering/admin..............................40%
Development operations....................................40%
Security....................................................................38%
Systems administrator..........................................36%
Systems analysis....................................................35%
Product management..........................................33%
Business analysis....................................................31%
Enterprise architecture.........................................25%

Employee-facing productivity apps...................40%
Partner-facing productivity apps........................27%
Customer-facing commercial apps...................33%

AppDev Environment*
In-house, licensed tech platform.......................78%
In-house, open source tools...............................46%
Outsource to service provider/partners...........41%
In-house, no licensed tech.................................... 4%

Salesforce Research

Browse all reports at salesforce.com/research.