Leading SaaS-based unified observability platform for hybrid IT infrastructures, LogicMonitor has released a new global research report, Future Further, which explores the infrastructure blindspots with the biggest impact on business success. 

The report details the mounting challenges businesses face as they navigate rocky cloud migrations, AI demands, chaotic infrastructure monitoring solutions, competing job priorities and more.

“For every business, building for the future starts with vision and insights. But without the proper tools, IT leaders are flying blind. In a world where hybrid IT infrastructure is here to stay, the LogicMonitor Future Further report validates the importance of giving IT leaders and their teams the ability to clearly see what’s happening now to create the opportunities to plan for tomorrow,” LogicMonitor CEO, Christina Kosmowski said.

The past decade’s emphasis on cloud migration has slowed due to emerging business macroeconomics. A hybrid IT infrastructure model now dominates the landscape, causing chaos between on-premise and cloud infrastructure monitoring tools.

The report found that more than one-third (36%) of IT leaders say their organisation won’t be conducting any further cloud migration through 2025 as those macroeconomic forces have taken hold.

Budget cuts and cost considerations are negatively impacting cloud migration for 80% of IT leaders.

Further, three out of every four (76%) organisations with hybrid infrastructure have separate monitoring tools for their on-prem and cloud stacks and 74% of IT leaders report spending more than a full business day each week troubleshooting and reacting to incidents.

“Our research findings make it easy to empathise with IT leaders – almost half of them only have bad things to say about their current monitoring approach. While facing pressure from their teams to get ahead of any issues, they are too busy fighting fires to get the chance to proactively deliver on the mission of the business,” LogicMonitor chief information officer, Ryan Worobel commented.

“This isn’t just an issue for IT teams, this is a business critical problem. More than one-third of the leaders we surveyed said they have put off projects which have the potential to increase revenue. That is a clear wake up call.”

While excitement about artificial intelligence is pervasive, especially among IT teams, research shows the underlying architectures may not be ready. With multiple infrastructure monitoring tools which aren’t part of a cohesive approach, the challenge to implement and benefit from AI grows.

According to the Future Further report, only half (50%) of IT leaders say their company’s current infrastructure is equipped to handle greater use of AI. Although IT leaders grasp the potential of the technology, and even have a shortlist of desired outcomes it could help tackle, two in five want to see AI provide recommendations for next steps they can take to resolve incidents.

With the current structure of on-premise and cloud IT infrastructure monitoring, teams are constantly reacting, troubleshooting and receiving complaints, demands and blame. The report found that IT leaders are happiest at their jobs when they have interesting and innovative work.

While respondents have ideas for how to solve business problems using their data, close to three-quarters (74%) say they lack the time and resources to turn those ideas into meaningful action. What’s more alarming is over one-third (35%) of IT leaders say they’ve put off projects that increase revenue to instead focus on responding to incidents.