LAS VEGAS-- Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software, and a Salesforce and AWS partner, today announced findings of the Tech Research Asia Survey Report, “Operational Excellence is a Key Part of System Modernisation,” examining the challenges, opportunities, and priorities of CIOs and CTOs in their modernization journey. The Rimini Street-sponsored research was conducted among more than 300 CxOs across Australia and New Zealand from retail, manufacturing, construction, banking, travel and hospitality, telecommunications, and utilities industries.

CIOs and CTOs Across Australia and New Zealand Struggle Balancing IT Modernization Efforts with Business Growth and Profitability, According to New Survey (Photo: Business Wire)
CIOs and CTOs Across Australia and New Zealand Struggle Balancing IT Modernization Efforts with Business Growth and Profitability, According to New Survey (Photo: Business Wire)
The survey highlights the balance IT leaders must strike between modernization efforts and broader business objectives such as profitability, growth, cost control and employee management. With a majority of surveyed executives seeing only marginal improvements to the business post-transformation, many are finding themselves having to justify the purpose and ROI of modernization efforts.

“The research indicates that there is significant room for improvement when it comes to modernization programs, and many organizations believe they can - and should - extract greater ROI out of their existing core systems,” said David Rowe, EVP, Global Transformation and chief product officer at Rimini Street. “Enterprise software system roadmaps have been dictated by the vendors, leaving little to no control to the organization implementing them. This is increasingly changing, and we are seeing more leaders take their roadmap into their own hands to achieve better outcomes by optimizing existing systems tailored to their business goals, innovating around the edges, and outsourcing maintenance and support.”

Survey Results Show Organizations Challenged with Digital Transformation Vision, IT Modernization Timeline and Budget, and Seeing Greater ROI for the Investment

Key findings include:

·98% of survey respondents are pursuing digital transformation (DX), but many organizations lack a comprehensive vision for their digital future and fall into “DX fatigue”
·88% of survey respondents are running an IT modernization program; however, more than half say they are behind schedule (61%) and over budget (68%)
·Nearly 60% of respondents say that their modernization programs were not succeeding beyond marginal improvements for the business
·81% of organizations believe that hybrid IT is a key approach to IT modernization

Embracing Innovation in IT Management and Modernization with Third-Party Support

While 66% of respondents are open to embracing innovative approaches to managing or modernizing their IT environments, the current focus on driving profit margin increases and operational excellence can lead organizations to deprioritize innovation efforts.

Over the next 12 months, the top three IT management priorities for CIOs and CTOs are:

1. Modernizing core systems to create better performance, efficiencies, and lower costs management
2. Keeping existing IT systems running
3. Managing IT budget constraints

To achieve these priorities, executives must take greater focus on areas of inefficiencies within the business. IT leaders surveyed believe they waste a mean of 144 hours per week on low-value management or maintenance tasks for core IT systems. This represents a critical area of the business where executives can work with key stakeholders and outsourced IT support vendors to eradicate waste by streamlining processes and freeing up resources.

The top two influences on business cited are “inflation/the cost of capital” and “finding/retaining the best talent.” With up to 60% of respondents experiencing some dissatisfaction with their primary operational/core IT system vendor, organizations should consider partnering with third-party service support experts who can help stabilize and optimize current systems, as well as provide strategies and roadmaps to well-planned modernization efforts. Doing so can provide enterprises with valuable guidance and support throughout the modernization journey, enabling them to foster innovation, allocate their talent resources toward strategic projects while pursuing both growth and profitability.