Ventana Research Delivers New Benchmark Research on IT Performance Management

    PLEASANTON, CA, January 6, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ventana Research today released the findings of its benchmark research on IT Performance Management (ITPM), making it the first research company to benchmark the maturity and direction of ITPM. The research is significant because the ability to perform in challenging economic times and market environments is key to survival, and organizational performance is dependent on IT organizations' ability to understand and optimize their processes - that is, to manage their performance. However, the continued growth and ever-increasing complexity of applications, networks, systems and services can make IT management a daunting task.

To be able to analyze and tune its performance, an IT organization needs reliable information about how each component of its portfolio of networks, projects, resources, services and systems is performing. Ventana Research conducted this benchmark research to better understand how IT accomplishes this and how both business management and IT view the effectiveness of their organization's management of IT performance.

In this new research, Ventana Research found that IT performance management - the practice of effectively managing IT-centric business activities, initiatives and processes to a common set of goals and initiatives - is beginning to make a critical difference for IT. The benchmark research found that three-quarters of organizations see increasing IT effectiveness in supporting business processes as a top benefit of their IT investments. However, it also revealed that advances in IT effectiveness are being hampered by a lack of basic business intelligence capability for IT and a continued reliance on standalone files and spreadsheets to store and manage data and metrics for ITPM.

The new research identified the roles played in the improvement of their IT management of performance and systems data captured by business service management (BSM), IT service management (ITSM), project portfolio management (PPM) and IT asset management. It also benchmarked the maturity of the performance and effectiveness of IT organizations by examining the people, processes, information and technology being used.

"Today's IT organizations are suffering from a lack of performance management, and this is impacting their ability to support their company's competitiveness and bottom-line performance," said Mark Smith, Ventana Research's CEO and executive vice president of research. "The research found that despite significant investments by IT into applications and systems, they still suffer from inadequate management of processes and technology because they aren't able to use information and metrics to accurately understand how IT is performing."

The new benchmark research from Ventana Research, "Realizing Successful IT Performance Management," finds that IT organizations are not prepared to respond affirmatively to the pressure to govern and improve their IT operations effectively even though the majority of organizations understand the importance of doing so. The research found that IT executives and managers identify financial and resource constraints as the top factors impacting their ability to make improvements. Analysis of the maturity of IT organizations with respect to ITPM found a substantial maturity gap, with innovative IT organizations continuing to advance their efforts while those at the lower tactical level of maturity continue to be plagued with a lack of needed skills and tools for improvement.

Ventana Research will expand on the benchmark research in a live interactive webinar on January 21st at 10am Pacific that will discuss the research findings and recommendations for improvement:
"Realizing Successful IT Performance Management:
New Approaches to Get More from Your Information Assets."

The webinar will discuss key findings and insights that are critical to improving and managing IT performance:
• Benefits and value of investing in IT performance management
• Top priorities for improvements across IT networks, projects, services and assets
• The role of technologies for improving IT processes and effectiveness
• Why IT needs information from systems to determine where place to invest.

Register for Webinar or Listen to Replay www.ventanaresearch.com/itpm

The research was sponsored by technology provider Cisco (www.cisco.com). It is based on an analysis of 163 qualified organizations from all major industries. The benchmark research was conducted with the assistance of media partners Intelligent Enterprise, DM Review and IT BusinessEdge. Those interested in learning more about the benchmark research can find additional information at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/itpm/. As a part of your registration you will receive the Ventana Research Newsletter that highlights our most recent research, and occasionally receive invitations to participate in research.

About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. We provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance - to become not only more efficient but more effective. Our unparalleled insights and best practices guidance are based on our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions worldwide. The combination we offer of benchmark research, rigorous market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver business and technology education and expertise to our clients where and when needed. Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst coverage in the industry; more than 2.5 million business and IT professionals through our community of 85,000 professionals and network of media and association partners around the world benefit from Ventana Research's insights. Ventana Research focuses on business and technology trends and best practices that maximize organizations' potential to perform while reducing the time, cost and risk and still achieve optimal outcomes. To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

Media: Copies of benchmark research report and interviews are available upon request.

Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso (925) 474-0060 [email protected]

2009 Ventana Research, Inc.

# # #