The Experts Conference 2009 Survey Underscores Need for Secure Identity and Access Management

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quest Software:

News Facts:

• Quest Software (NASDAQ: QSFT) announces the availability of The Experts Conference (TEC) 2009 survey report, an independent survey conducted by Ian Hayes of Clarity Consulting, Inc. Conducted annually at TEC, the survey polled delegates to gain better understanding of the issues facing their organizations, the relative priority of those issues, current tool usage, and common practices for directory and other Windows infrastructure management tasks.
• Of the 475 attendees at TEC U.S. 2009, approximately 50 percent responded to the survey. Respondents primarily consisted of technicians who work within large corporate and governmental IT organizations and are responsible for Active Directory (82 percent), Exchange (37 percent), Identity Lifecycle Manager (33 percent), and other Microsoft infrastructure technologies.
• Single sign-on, a new topic added to the survey in 2009, took first place as the top challenge among IT respondents, with 35 percent rating this area “problematic” or “out of control” in their organizations. Only 21 percent of respondents rated single sign-on as being “handled well.” An overwhelming 63 percent of respondents stated that the quality of available automation within single sign-on solutions is “fair” or “poor.”
• User provisioning/de-provisioning followed at a close second, with 30 percent of IT respondents rating this area as “problematic” due to the high request volumes. Respondents rating user provisioning/de-provisioning as an “out of control” issue grew slightly from 5 to 7 percent in 2009.
• Compliance reporting remains a top concern for IT, rounding out the top three issues, with 28 percent rating this area as either “problematic” or “out of control.”
• For the first time, TEC 2009 included an Exchange conference, and the survey data showed that Exchange is used in the vast majority of organizations represented:
  • 93 percent of attendees use Exchange in their organizations
  • 62 percent of attendee organizations are on Exchange 2003
  • Only 25 percent have made the jump and fully deployed Exchange 2007
• Adoption of other Microsoft infrastructure technologies has seen a steady increase:
  • 86 percent of attendees are using SharePoint
  • 54 percent are using PowerShell
  • 34 percent are in the process of deploying Windows Server 2008
  • 42 percent are considering deployment of Windows Server 2008 in the next six to 12 months
• The survey also included feedback from delegates regarding overall work satisfaction:
  • Despite the economy, 70 percent of TEC attendees continue to be satisfied with their jobs.
  • IT professionals have seen an increase in the hours worked in a given work week, reporting an average of 48 hours in 2009, up from 47 last year. More than 50 percent work 40 to 50 hours per week, which is down from 64 percent in 2008. However, the number of professionals working 50 to 80 hour a week increased, making up for the decrease in the 2008 data.
  • In addition, IT managers, directors and VPs work the longest hours in a week at 51, up from 47 in 2008.

About Sponsors and Author:

• Quest Software Inc. is an enterprise systems management vendor. We deliver innovative products that help organizations get more performance and productivity from their applications, databases, Windows infrastructure and virtual environments.

• Clarity Consulting, Inc. is an independent third-party providing management consulting services in Information Technology strategies, emerging trends, markets and challenges. Ian Hayes, president of Clarity Consulting, has authored The Experts Conference Annual Survey every year since 2005.

Relevant Links:

• Download a complimentary copy of the full 2009 TEC Survey Report: http://theexpertscommunity.com/upload/13/bb-2009tec_attendee_survey_results-us-mj-6-29.pdf
• Join The Experts Community, as an online extension of TEC: http://theexpertscommunity.com/

Multimedia:

• Watch the TEC 2009 U.S. video montage on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgLqLVXTiXc&feature=related
• View presentations from TEC 2009 U.S. and get a sneak peak at TEC 2009 Europe: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0787F2AA75EC08DD

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