Why CIOs are Embracing the Shift to Proactive IT

If prevention is better than treatment, why do we spend so much time waiting for things to go wrong just to wind up fixing them?

In the realm of enterprise technology, we’re witnessing a shift from traditional, reactive IT to the strategic domain of proactive IT. Not only is this a technological pivot, but it is also a fundamental element of business that demands the attention of C-suite executives and IT leaders.

Proactive IT management embodies an information technology approach that prioritises the anticipation and resolution of potential issues before their escalation, contrasting the conventional reactive response to emerging problems. This long overdue strategic framework requires the IT function to adopt an anticipatory and preventative orientation, putting more effort into identifying and quantifying emerging problems to effectively manage concerns before they become critical issues.

While the main barrier to proactive IT is the inability to gain actionable insights into the performance of the IT estate, there are several supporting reasons, including resource constraints, short-term focus on the fire drill of the day, reliance on legacy systems, and many more. Addressing these obstacles begins by building a culture that emphasises a proactive stance to IT management, particularly focusing on “shift-left” principles for earlier intervention.

The integration of predictive analytics, data aggregation, intelligent edge capabilities, and consolidated dashboards can endow enterprise IT teams and MSPs with the ability to prevent and resolve latency issues before they manifest. In one example, a Capgemini project team working for a global chemicals firm had a goal to improve user experience and enable proactive issue resolution across thousands of devices and 40-plus global sites. 

The team agreed on the adoption of a proactive IT approach. Through this strategy, the firm monitored the status and system performance of the end-user environment with a digital employee experience (DEX) solution, and proactively addressed issues and risks impacting employee experiences. The implementation of DEX technology enabled early identification and resolution of performance issues, minimising any harm that may have been caused by problematic IT issues. 

In addition to providing patch and software dashboards, the solution has already helped the company determine the health of its devices, the types of browsers being used, and device type counts. Following this implementation, the chemicals firm and Capgemini continued their partnership in pursuit of further innovations, such as the use of sustainability-measuring capabilities that will improve the user experience.

Proactive IT impacts felt across the business

In today’s work environment, fostering a positive digital employee experience is imperative. Even years later, the post-pandemic shift to remote and hybrid work environments has stressed IT teams and added pressure to help desks. Additionally, IT teams must cater to the diverse tech expectations of the multigenerational workforce, especially with digital-natives now making up the largest portion of workers.

Research indicates that chronic dissatisfaction with workplace technology significantly impacts talent retention. For instance, nearly 40% of employees have considered leaving their employer because of technology issues, and 14% actually have. 

These negative encounters not only affect recruitment costs, they also compound expenses related to onboarding and training. To combat this, organisations must identify potential DEX issues before they escalate by leveraging data insights to preserve a seamless digital work environment.

This can be achieved by empowering service desk and support teams to pinpoint and resolve issues early on, reducing the mean time to resolution and ticket escalation. By addressing emerging issues, organisations can mitigate disruptive scenarios, curbing associated costs and improving end-user satisfaction.

Harnessing data-driven insights is key to identifying and prioritising performance indicators, empowering IT to maintain productivity and reduce the average cost per IT ticket. The smooth integration of these insights empowers IT to enhance employee productivity, leading to a reduction in the number of support tickets and consequent cost savings, with an average ticket cost of approximately £20.

Proactive IT isn’t merely a theoretical concept—it yields tangible business outcomes. For instance, an EMEA-based financial institution leveraged a proactive IT strategy and significantly reduced service desk calls and downtime, benefiting over 50,000 employees. Similarly, a U.S.-based healthcare organisation saw a 35% decrease in incidents by identifying and resolving the most common IT issues before an employee submitted a ticket, enhancing the employee experience and operational efficiency.

Proactive IT lends confidence to tech leaders overseeing digital transformation projects. Real-time visibility across the IT landscape enables efficient tracking of transformation initiatives, ensuring minimal disruption to critical business operations. Furthermore, this approach is instrumental in merger and acquisition integrations and compliance monitoring, providing clarity and confidence in addressing security vulnerabilities and system updates.

These proven business outcomes underscore the substantial benefits of adopting proactive IT strategies. It’s time for executive leaders and technology professionals to champion this transformation and propel their organisations forward.