The 2014 IDG Enterprise Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker survey was conducted with the goal of gaining insight into the evolving role and influence of IT decision-makers in today’s corporations. The research examines the involvement of IT decision-makers during each stage of the IT purchase process and the primary influences and information sources they rely on throughout the purchase process.

1. Conducted across the IDG Enterprise brands: CIO,
Computerworld, InfoWorld, ITworld & Network World
2014 Role & Influence of the
Technology Decision-Maker

2. Purpose and Methodology
1
Survey Sample
IDG Enterprise 1,166 respondents
Audience Base CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld,
ITworld, and Network World site
visitors, LinkedIn Forums and email
invitations to audience base.
Business Panel 251 respondents
Audience Base GMI (Global Market Insight)
business panel respondents
Survey Method
Survey Goal
To provide in-depth information about the evolving
role and influence of IT decision-makers in today’s
corporations:
- Role of technology decision-makers in the IT
purchasing process.
- Primary influences and information sources in
the IT purchasing process.
Collection Online Questionnaire
Number of
Questions 19 (incl. demographics)
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

3. 2
CEOs Recognize the Importance of Technology
Q. How much of a priority does your company’s CEO place on promoting technology as a driver of business innovation?
58%
say their
CEOs promote
technology as
a critical/high
priority for
business
innovation
BY INDUSTRY
Healthcare 68%
High Tech 68%
Telecom 65%
Finance 62%
Services 61%
Manufacturing 49%
Government 45%
41%
High
Priority
29%
Moderate
Priority
17%
Critical
Priority
3% Not a Priority
3% Not Sure
7%
Low Priority
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

4. 3
Different IT Mgmt. Lead at Each Stage of
Purchase Process
Q. In which of the following ways are you involved in the purchase process for IT products and services?
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

5. 4
Number of Influencers in Enterprises Increased
Q. Please estimate the total number of people, on average, involved in influencing major enterprise technology purchases within your organization.
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

6. 4%
9%
3%
13%
10%
7%
18%
21%
15%
2%
4%
1%
6%
3%
4%
15%
33%
32%
More
than 10
8-10
6-7
5
4
3
2
1
0
Vendors Not Doing Business With Current Vendors
5
Minimal Time Spent with Vendors
Q. In a typical work week, how many hours do you spend meeting with: Current technology vendors (vendors whose products/services you currently use/employ) AND
Technology vendors that you’re not doing business with currently?
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

7. 6
Peers Take Over as #1 Source
Q. Which of the following information sources do you use to keep up-to-date with new technologies and to enhance the knowledge you need to be effective in your role?
* Research Analysts and Third Party Research firms were combined in 2011. In 2012, this was changed to “Analyst firms”
Sources Used to Keep Up-to-Date with New Technologies 2014 <1000 1000+
Peers 71% 72% 72%
Technology content sites (e.g. CNET.com) 70% 74% 65%
Search engines (e.g. Google Bing) 58% 62% 53%
White papers 54% 53% 57%
Technology print publications (e.g. InformationWeek) 53% 57% 48%
Newsletters 49% 53% 46%
Webcasts/webinars/web video 49% 50% 49%
Technology vendors (via vendor website) 49% 54% 44%
Technology vendors (via phone, email, in-person) 46% 44% 48%
Analyst firms (e.g. IDC, Gartner, Forrester) 44% 38% 53%
1
1
1
2
2
2
3 3
34
4
4
4
5
5
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

8. 7
Third Party Involvement Increases Credibility
Q. How does your perception of content change when it is created by, or co-branded with, a third party that you trust rather than produced solely by a vendor?
24%
Increases
credibility
significantly
46%
Increases
credibility
somewhat
22%
Does not
change my
perception
6% Not sure
2%
Decreases
credibility
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

9. EXEC
IT
MID-
LEVEL IT
IT
PRO
64% 63% 63%
57% 52% 49%
32% 33% 29%
34% 26% 24%
28% 23% 25%
28% 16% 24%
21% 16% 18%
16% 13% 17%
12% 6% 12%11%
15%
18%
24%
26%
29%
31%
54%
63%
Linked to the video in a blog post
or a post on a social network
Commented on the video
Looked for a product in a retail store
Purchased a product
Participated in a product demo
Added a vendor to your
short list or consideration set
Forwarded the video to
friends or colleagues
Visted a vendor website or contacted
a vendor for more information
Researched a product
8
Videos Encourage Executive Product Research
Q. Which of the following actions have you taken as a result of watching a technology-related video in the last 3 months?
Source: IDG Enterprise Role & influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 2014

10. Learn More
To view the full results, please contact Sue Yanovitch, VP of
Marketing, IDG Enterprise at syanovitch@idgenterprise.com.