54% Indian Businesses Believe IT Policies Slow Innovation

Blue Coat Systems, Inc. has unveiled findings from a new survey of more than 1,900 global business and IT leaders, including 200 in India, that shows when employees can safely and quickly choose the best technologies the world has to offer, businesses are empowered to create, communicate, collaborate, innovate, execute, compete and win.

Compared with other companies worldwide, businesses in India are more optimistic about the benefits of enabling employees to choose their technologies. According to the survey, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit and conducted by Vanson Bourne, 92 percent of businesses in India believe that greater technology choice for employees and business units is required to drive efficiency in the business compared to 84 percent worldwide.

Additionally, 69 percent of businesses in India believe greater technology freedom can increase revenue, well above the 54 percent global average. These same businesses strongly believe that technology choice can not only drive business growth, but can increase revenue by more than 35 percent. Companies in India that are growing faster than 10 percent are even more positive, believing that revenue can increase more than 40 percent by allowing employees to optimise on the technologies that allow them to best perform their jobs.

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These fastest growing companies also understand how to drive greater profitability, efficiency and innovation with technology. Seventy-four percent of the fastest growing Indian companies increased profitability by using new technologies compared to only 55 percent of slow growing companies. Likewise, 66 percent of the fastest growing companies in India and worldwide have used technology to empower their users, compared with only 48 percent of slow growing companies worldwide and 19 percent in India.

Business leaders and independent-minded users are driving a shift away from IT-controlled technology to at-will consumption of the best technology, devices, applications and IT services available in the marketplace. Securing this technology while empowering the business requires a new approach to security that is not just about what IT prevents but also what it makes possible.

“Security has traditionally been steeped in fear – of the unknown, of new technology, of loss of control – and that fear has driven a rigidity that stymies growth in the business,” said Greg Clark, CEO at Blue Coat Systems. “To empower the business, the security model needs to change to one that makes it possible for employees to individually optimise on the technologies that best allow them to perform their jobs.”

Businesses are trying to harness the power of technology to deliver new products and services, improve customer experience and drive greater competitive advantage, but traditional security methods are too rigid and outdated to match the pace of innovation adoption. According to the survey, 54 percent of Indian businesses believe IT policies slow innovation while 59 percent believe they slow customer service.

“CIOs need to be business enablers who can align IT with strategic corporate initiatives,” said Phil Hochmuth, program manager, security at IDC. “When the partnership between IT and business leaders is successful, the organisation can innovate and deliver new products and services, reduce costs through greater efficiency and ultimately drive revenue growth.”

CIOs understand they need to embrace technology changes to realise strategic business goals, but they do not have the infrastructure or methods to empower people to safely use these new technologies. In India, 75 percent of businesses believe that security is the biggest obstacle to enabling employees to choose the best technology in the world at-will compared to 71 percent worldwide.