That we are all heavily reliant on IT is no longer a question, yet debate still exists in choosing the key indicators for measuring IT dependence.

Michelle Bailey - Director of Research, ITCentrix

There is little debate that US organizations are very reliant on IT. Computing infrastructure has become the backbone of many industries business processes. Even traditional ‘labor-intensive’ industries such as healthcare and transportation are heavily invested in IT.

Still up for grabs is WHAT determines reliance on IT and HOW dependent US organizations are on IT. Academics, private enterprise and research organizations are all seeking the ultimate solution to measuring IT contribution as the firm level.

As an example, ITCentrix recently tested its notion that IT usage and the productivity gains from this usage can be used as a barometer of IT Value. We asked 650 computer users to rate their reliance on IT to perform their job using a seven-point scale. Almost half of the sample (49%) believe they are “extremely reliant” on information technology to complete their job function.

After analyzing these results against other IT metrics, we found that ‘reliance on IT’ is influenced by both level of IT usage (or percent of a users day spent using a computer) and users IT productivity (% improvement of computer productivity vs. doing other tasks to get a job done; see Figure below). Our analysis found that BOTH computer usage and computer productivity are significantly correlated with IT reliance, meaning that as IT usage increases and as IT productivity increases, so does an organizations perceived reliance on IT.

Industries with the highest levels of IT usage include: Insurance, banking, finance, manufacturing, and professional services. Occupation also is an important determinant of IT reliance. Executives, professionals and administrative support workers rate their reliance on IT significantly higher than other workers.

Click to enlarge