A new SolarWinds report reveals a troubling disconnect: while 88% of IT professionals believe their organizations are operationally resilient, their day-to-day struggles suggest otherwise.
The Confidence Gap
Surveying over 600 IT leaders across nine countries, the research found that one-third consider themselves “very resilient.” Yet when asked about handling core challenges, such as AI adoption, cybersecurity, and managing a remote workforce, confidence plummets. Only half or fewer say they manage these areas very effectively.
The impact is personal. More than two-thirds of IT professionals report that resilience—or lack thereof—affects their job satisfaction and security. When systems fail, so does morale.
Where Teams Struggle Most
The culprit isn’t what you’d expect. While 87% of respondents claim they have the right technology in place, operational resilience challenges persist. The real problem? Workflows.
Over half (51%) cite broken processes as their biggest obstacle during disruptions, while 36% blame insufficient staffing. Only 13% point to inadequate tools. Yet, organizations continue to default to technology-first solutions, overlooking how people actually use those tools.
The Cost of Firefighting
Resource allocation reveals deeper issues. Nearly two-thirds of IT teams spend 11-30% of their budget addressing service disruptions—but spending more doesn’t equal resilience. What matters is strategic investment.
Time tells an even starker story. While 70% of teams spend a quarter or less of their time resolving critical issues (considered best practice), 10% spend more than half their time addressing essential matters. These reactive teams also spend more budget, experience lower job satisfaction, and are 50% more likely to report understaffing—suggesting deeper workflow and tool problems rather than genuine personnel shortages.
Customer Experience on the Line
The stakes are high. Seventy-one percent cite customer experience as their most significant pain point from outages, while 32% report direct revenue loss. In e-commerce, even a 500-millisecond latency increase noticeably reduces activity. Brand damage affects 28% of organizations, resulting in long-term financial consequences that extend beyond immediate revenue losses.
The Path Forward
The report recommends a systems-first approach: map team relationships before buying new tools or hiring staff. Understanding how teams interact and where conflicts arise reveals whether organizations need better processes, more people, or different technology.
As IT environments become increasingly complex with distributed workforces and AI integration, operational resilience is no longer optional—it’s a matter of survival. However, achieving it requires honesty about current capabilities and addressing workflow challenges before implementing technology.
