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Businesses waste 16 weeks per year on software upgrades

~ 44.5 minutes per PC is a ‘waste of time and resources’, says Citrix ~

July 16, 2008

July 16, 2008, Chalfont, UK - IT managers and administrators spend an average of 44.5 minutes on each PC or laptop every time software needs to be upgraded, according to research from Citrix. And with the survey also finding an average of 3,700 desktops in medium to large enterprises, this means those businesses spend an extraordinary 2,744 hours on every software upgrade. That's the equivalent of one person working around the clock for 16 weeks, or nine-to-five for 343 days.

With independent figures suggesting IT support staff can earn up to £15 per hour, that's a cost of £43,000 per upgrade in manpower.

Four out of five respondents said these high costs were the biggest factor in deciding how frequently software and hardware resources are upgraded.

“IT teams are wasting the equivalent of a working year simply upgrading their resources,” said Patrick Irwin, product manager at Citrix UK, Ireland and South Africa. “This must be addressed if IT is to achieve its aim of spending less time and money on running computers, and more on contributing to business success.”

Over three quarters of respondents said desktop virtualisation increased efficiency by introducing centralised management. Irwin believes organisations must investigate this sooner rather than later to stem the tide of money and resources pouring out through the holes in their IT management.

“You can spend 30 minutes upgrading each desktop, or 30 minutes upgrading the whole estate. Surely this makes desktop virtualisation a no-brainer?" said Irwin. “In a time of economic downturn, businesses should be looking at every possible way to stop haemorrhaging resources. Looking at basics like software upgrades is a must.”

(295 words)

Executive quote

“IT teams are wasting the equivalent of a working year simply upgrading their resources,” said Patrick Irwin, product manager at Citrix UK, Ireland and South Africa. “This must be addressed if IT is to achieve its aim of spending less time and money on running computers, and more on contributing to business success.”

About the company

NOTES TO EDITORS
About the research
The research was conducted among attendees at the 2008 Citrix iForum in Edinburgh, June 9-11. 118 people completed the survey, of which 2.4 per cent were CIOs, 1.2 per cent were CSIOs, 4.8 per cent were IT directors, 45.8 per cent were IT administrators, and 48.5 per cent were IT managers.

About Citrix
Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS) is the global leader and the most trusted name in application delivery infrastructure. More than 200,000 organisations worldwide rely on Citrix to deliver any application to users anywhere with the best performance, highest security and lowest cost. Citrix customers include 100% of the Fortune 100 companies and 99% of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers. Citrix has approximately 6,200 channel and alliance partners in more than 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2007 was $1.4 billion.

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Businesses waste 16 weeks per year on software upgrades

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