Gartner Dataquest Says Teleworkers Are Not Receiving Proper IT Services and Support From Their Companies; Focus Report Examines How Companies Support Teleworkers.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2002

Although 37 percent of American workers telework on a regular basis, these workers are receiving limited IT support from their companies, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).

The result is inadequate and haphazard service that leaves individual telecommuters adapting in ways that increase computing costs without any guarantee of minimizing downtime.

These findings were presented in the Gartner Dataquest Focus Report "Teleworkers Settle for Less in Service and Support." This report includes results from two (phone and e-mail) surveys conducted in May 2002. One survey included 316 managers of IT product support services. These respondents were responsible for the maintenance and support services their organization received from outside the company. The second survey interviewed 200 teleworkers to examine the experiences and attitudes of teleworkers.

"The key to the problem appears to be that IT managers do not fully grasp the basics of telework," said Ron Silliman, senior analyst for Gartner Dataquest's IT services group. "For example, IT managers estimate that 45 percent of all teleworkers are 'mobile,' while our survey found that 68 percent of all teleworkers actually connect in from their homes. In reality, full-time teleworkers are actually less apt to travel than their part-time counterparts. As a result, poor decisions regarding remote support appear to be the norm rather than the exception."

Gartner Dataquest defines telework as paid work conducted away from an organization's physical offices but requires at least periodic connection to the employer's computer network. This remote work may be done at home, on the road, in a hotel or even at a customer location.

Network connectivity is the most commonly experienced problem reported by teleworkers, with nearly two disruptions per teleworker in the past year. When their most recent system failure occurred, 30 percent of teleworkers experienced downtime of at least two days. Eight percent experienced more than six days of downtime, with half of these reporting a minimum of 10 days worth of downtime.

When asked to describe their network problems during the previous month, 40 percent of those who reported disruptions in their network connections reported that they occurred more than once. Thirteen percent reported more than three disruptions in the past month. With regard to their most recent disruption, 18 percent reported being disconnected from the network for more than two days, with 4 percent being disconnected for more than four days.

Carrying a disabled piece of equipment into the office for repair is the most commonly used method of getting hardware support, reported by 42 percent of users. This practice turns workers of all categories into simple couriers, regardless of their pay scale or the related costs in productivity and lost opportunity. In one instance, Gartner Dataquest found a company that flies employees into the headquarters office with disabled equipment.

"CIOs must elevate the issue of the remote installed base to a top service priority," Silliman said. "Teleworkers have distinct service requirements and may need the assistance of a provider other than the one that supports the organization's primary campuses. For example, 13 percent of all teleworkers stay connected to their company's network 10 or more hours per day. Limiting support to nine or even 12 hours per day means pushing workers toward far more expensive and unreliable 'underground' forms of support."

Telework presents enormous opportunities to external service providers, who are far better able to provide 24-hour support and onsite service in remote environments than most end-user organizations. "External providers must educate their customers about the total cost of computing in the remote environment," Silliman said. "Against 10 days of downtime, even the most expensive outside provider is a bargain."

Additional information is available in the Focus Report "Teleworkers Settle for Less in Service and Support." This report can be purchased on the Internet at www.gartner.com. For more information on Gartner Dataquest's IT services group, please call 408-468-8000, or go to IT Services Focus Area on Gartner's Web site at

http://www.gartner.com/1_researchanalysis/focus_areas/itservices/ itsvcs_fa.html.

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Gartner Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,500 clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner's businesses consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting, Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, in more than 90 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2001 revenue totaled $963 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.