The Register Profiler

RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE


1. YOU AND THE REGISTER

1.1 How long have you been reading The Register?

1.2 How frequently do you visit The Register?

1.3 How would you rate The Register in relation to the following?

 
Excellent
Good
Falling short
Generally poor
Covering topics that are important to you
Bringing news and developments to you quickly
Being technically in-depth
Providing the right mix of content types
Providing the right range of voices and viewpoints
Generally meeting your content needs

2. A BIT MORE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WORK

2.1 Which of the following best describes your organisation's core business?

2.2 Does your organisation sell IT products or services?

2.3 Which part of the world are you based in?

 

2.4 How large is the organisation you work for?

2.5 Which of the following best describes your primary role?

GENERAL IT ROLES
SPECIALIST PRACTITIONER ROLES
LEADERSHIP/COORDINATION ROLES
OTHER ROLES

2.6 How old are you?

2.7 On what basis are you working at the moment?

2.8 How long have you worked in each of these?

 
More than 20 years
10 to 20 years
5 to 10 years
2 to 5 years
Less than 2 years
Your general profession or discipline
The kind of role you are in at the moment (inc with previous employers)
The specific role you are in with your current organisation
Your current organisation (in any role)

2.9 Whether your current role provides it or not, what motivates you from a professional/work perspective?

 
Big
motivator
5
 
 
4
 
 
3
 
 
2
Doesn't motivate me at all
1
Developing my knowledge and skills
Doing engaging/interesting work
Being allowed to do a good job
Getting respect and recogniton
Chance to influence/educate others
Advancing my career
Earning money
Getting home on time
Pleasing the boss

 

 

2.12 Do any of the following drive your bonus, if you get one, or otherwise contribute to how well you are seen to perform in your role?

 
Yes, via personal objectives
Yes, via company/team obectives
No
Business performance (e.g. sales or growth)
Product or service innovation
Delivering against project commitments
Delivering against service level commitments
Delivering against specific quality measures
Reducing or managing costs/overheads
Business/user satisfaction
Customer satisfaction (e.g. NPS)
Other (please specify)

2.13 Are you responsible for any of the following?

 
Yes
No, but I am involved
No involvement
Managing people
Managing projects
Managing a department or function
Managing a budget
Making business cases
Making purchase recommendations
Approving purchases
Managing internal relationships
Managing customer relationships
Managing partner relationships
Managing supplier relationships

2.14 How many people report to you either directly or indirectly?

3. INVESTMENT AND DECISION-MAKING

3.1 Which of the following do you personally get involved in when a significant technology-related decision needs to be made?
Tick all that apply

3.2 Who tends to be involved more generally?
Tick all that apply

 
Senior execs
Finance and procurement
Business managers
IT leader(s)
Project managers
Domain specialists
Other
(please specify)
Setting the investment agenda
Defining specific requirements
Selecting suppliers and solutions

3.3 Do significant technology decisions tend to be driven/controlled centally or locally?

3.4 And thinking about how IT and 'the business' work together, how often do technology-related decisions follow these patterns?

 
Frequently
Sometimes
Rarely or never
IT controlled: IT team identifies the need, then makes a decision and acts unilaterally
IT driven: IT team identifies the need, then ‘sells’ an idea to business stakeholders
Collaborative: Business stakeholders and IT collaborate to define the need and solution
Business driven: Stakeholders identify the need, then engage IT to work it into the plan
Business controlled: Stakeholders identify the need, then select the solution unilaterally

3.5 And what's the typical pattern that applies to technology decisions in relation to the following specifically?

 
IT controlled
lT driven
Collaborative
Business driven
Business controlled
Unsure
Major business transformation initiatives
Major IT transformation initiatives
Routine infrastructure upgrades or extensions (covered by existing budgets)
Project-level technology requirements (covered by existing budgets)
Core business applications and services (marketing, sales, operations, etc)
End user productivity and collaboration (inc desktop and mobile)
Emerging technology adoption (AI, edge, IoT, etc)
Security, risk and compliance requirements
Strategic supplier contracts and commitments

3.6 Who, specifically, has a significant say when it comes technology decisions in these areas?
Tick all that apply

 
Senior execs
Finance & procurement
Business managers
IT leader(s)
Project managers
Domain specialists
Other
(please specify)
Major business transformation initiatives
Major IT transformation initiatives
Routine infrastructure upgrades/extensions
Routine project-level requirements
Core business applications and services
End user productivity and collaboration
Emerging technology adoption
Security, risk and compliance
Strategic supplier contracts/commitments

 

 

3.9 Is IT involved early enough in important business initiatives and decisions that involve technology?

 

4. INFORMATION SOURCES AND DELIVERY

4.1 What's your level of preference for the following in general?

 
High preference
Medium Preference
Low/no preference
Online written content
Downloadable content
Infographics
Webcasts
Podcasts
Face to face events
Interactive online forums
Other (please specify)

4.2 How important is input from the following when setting the investment agenda?

 
Important
Often useful
Rarely useful
Wouldn't trust
Unsure
Colleagues and peers
Consultants
Industry analysts
Suppliers
Business press
IT press
Social media

4.3 What about inputs when you are defining specific requirements?

 
Important
Often useful
Rarely useful
Wouldn't trust
Unsure
Colleagues and peers
Consultants
Industry analysts
Suppliers
Business press
IT press
Social media

4.4 And what about inputs when selecting solutions and suppliers?

 
Important
Often useful
Rarely useful
Wouldn't trust
Unsure
Colleagues and peers
Consultants
Industry analysts
Suppliers
Business press
IT press
Social media

4.5 How useful is material aimed at the following during the decision-making process?

 
Extremely useful
5
 
 
4
 
 
3
 
 
2
Not useful at all
1
Bringing you up to speed on the latest ideas and developments
Getting an independent perspective on what suppliers have to offer
Educating business stakeholders on what really matters and why
Understanding the practicalities of emerging ideas and solutions

5. SUPPLIER SELECTION IN MORE DETAIL

5.1 When looking for a supplier to meet an important requirement, how frequently does the following happen?

 
Frequently
Sometimes
Rarely or never
Unsure
We ask our existing supplier(s) if they can help, and only look elsewhere if they can't
We do extensive research, then approach suppliers once we have a good feel for what's available
We do the minimum research, then get some some relevant suppliers in to talk through our needs
We engage the supplier(s) that have done the best job of schmoozing our execs

5.2 All other things being equal (functionality, pricing, etc), how likely are you to do the following when choosing between solutions and suppliers?

 
Highly likely
5
 
 
4
 
 
3
 
 
2
Highly unlikely
1
Chose an incumbent supplier over one you have never bought from before
Choose an established market leader over an emerging challenger brand
Favour a supplier with a broad portfolio over a niche/specialist player
Favour a cloud service over an on-premise option
Favour a suite-based solution over ‘best-of-breed’
Favour a managed service over a self-managed option
Favour a pre-integrated solution over the DIY approach

5.3 How much would the following encourage you to select a challenger brand or niche specialist player over a bigger established brand?

 
Big influence
Some influence
No influence
N/A - can't rely on this
Unsure
Alternative mindset, philosophy or culture
More likely to encourage new ideas and ways of working
Less drag from baggage and/or legacy
More focused approach to R&D and innovation
Deeper domain expertise and experience
More likely to listen to and be influenced by customers
Less likely to take customers for granted
Greater commitment to latest architectures, standards, etc
More likely to be flexible and easier to work with
Keeps incumbent suppliers on their toes

5.4 And how much do the following discourage you from considering a challenger brand or niche specialist?

 
General concern
Have to beware of
Not a concern
Unsure
Narrowness of perspective; if all you have is a hammer...
Narrowness of solution; greater integration burden
Concerns about mainstream readiness
Dificulties acquiring relevant skills and experience
Priorities skewed towards a few early/large customers
Concerns about financial stability and staying power
Concerns over possible future acquisition
Limited resources leading to support issues
Smaller ecosystem limiting third party options
Undermines value from existing supplier contracts

 

6. AND FINALLY

6.1 Would you like us to particularly prioritise content in any of the following areas over the coming year?

 
Yes
Don't care
Less of this please
Datacentre systems
e.g. servers, storage, networking, platform software, integrated systems, automation/management
Digital workplace
e.g. desktop/end-user equipment, productivity/collaboration systems or equivalent cloud services
Business applications
e.g. ERP, CRM, HCM, and other business-level packaged solutions or equivalent cloud services
Software delivery
e.g. Development, testing or DevOps tooling, third-party development or integration services
Risk management
e.g. security, privacy, compliance, data protection and business continuity solutions or services
Infrastructure services
e.g. Cloud services (IaaS or PaaS), traditional hosting/co-lo services, managed services
Telecommunications
e.g. Voice and/or data networking services, including comms-related managed services
Emerging technologies
e.g. Machine learning, AI, advanced analytics, IoT, quantum computing
Supplier management
e.g. Evaluation, selection, commercial and legal, ongoing management
Other (please specify)

 

As usual, your responses will be anonymous and your privacy assured.