Optimal App Performance Is Key to Business Success

By Samuel Greengard | Posted 2016-02-03

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Optimal App Performance Is Key to Business Success

Business and IT executives agree about the importance of app performance, but gaps often exist between the needs of a business and what IT is able to deliver.
Performance Anxieties

98% of the executives surveyed agreed that optimal enterprise application performance is critical to achieving optimal business performance.
Point of Impact

89% said the poor performance of enterprise applications negatively impacted their work, and 58% said it affects their work at least weekly.
Eye on Benefits

The most commonly cited benefits of optimal app performance include increased employee productivity (51%), time savings (50%) and cost savings (47%).
Poor Performance Pitfalls

The most commonly cited negative impact of poor app performance include dissatisfied clients or customers (41%), contract delays (40%) and missed critical deadlines (35%).
Counting Losses

33% of the executives said their company has lost clients or customers due to breakdowns in app performance, and 32% said they have incurred brand damage.
Morale Matters

29% of the survey respondents reported that they have witnessed decreased employee morale due to lagging application performance.
Lack of Clarity

71% said they are in the dark about why enterprise apps are running slowly, and 51% said that app complexity is the primary obstacle to mastering application performance.
Cloud Value

82% of respondents said the benefit of clouds is increased productivity, 58% cited increased flexibility and 46% cited cost savings.
Key Recommendations

Establish a baseline of app performance. Invest in and deploy app performance infrastructure. Be proactive in addressing user demands and technology shifts.
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Over the last couple of decades, the number of applications used by a typical enterprise has risen dramatically. As organizations have become more reliant on these software tools, concerns over performance have grown. A newly released study conducted by cloud services and application infrastructure provider Riverbed examined the current state of applications and performance. The "Global Application Performance Survey 2015," which queried approximately 900 global business executives, delivers key insights into this evolving space. It found that while business and IT executives agree that app performance is at the heart of a successful enterprise, enormous gaps often exist between the needs of a business and what IT is able to deliver. What's more, this disconnect frequently leads to a variety of problems—which are often serious—for organizations. They include diminished morale among employees, a negative impact on brand image and lost revenue. Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey.

Samuel Greengard writes about business and technology for Baseline, CIO Insight and other publications. His most recent book is The Internet of Things (MIT Press, 2015).

Optimal App Performance Is Key to Business Success

Optimal App Performance Is Key to Business Success

Performance Anxieties

Point of Impact

Eye on Benefits

Poor Performance Pitfalls

Counting Losses

Morale Matters

Lack of Clarity

Cloud Value

Key Recommendations