Alignment between IT and the business has progressed significantly according to the 2015 PMG IT and the UX Study. The survey of nearly 250 North American corporate IT professionals demonstrates that IT and business users are beginning to work together in a more cohesive manner. In fact, IT's take on the mutual understanding of strategic objectives has improved by nearly 20 percent. 

A contributing factor toward the enhanced relationship is IT's conscious effort to improve user experiences (UX).  Across the board, IT is doing more to evaluate the UX of applications pre and post implementation. In fact, 54 percent of respondents say they regularly survey business users in order to gauge their happiness. 

Another indication that business user satisfaction is at the forefront for IT is the emerging presence of intuitive technology throughout the enterprise. The majority of IT executives (63 percent) say that greater than 50 percent of their organization's applications require no HTML or coding knowledge to operate. 

While the working relationships between IT and business users are on the upswing, IT feels their perception among business users is still not ideal. According to IT leaders, 41 percent of business users continue to view IT as service providers rather than strategic partners.

It's also evident that greater clarity and commitment is needed among IT leadership regarding further investment in the consumerization of IT within their organizations. Although 42 percent of IT professionals see consumerization as a way to continue improving business user satisfaction, more than 30 percent are unaware of how much budget is available to continue to support the initiative.  

"Investing in and deploying easy-to-use technology is not only beneficial to the user; it's ultimately valuable to IT," said Joe LeCompte, principal of PMG. "When business users feel empowered, IT suddenly has more time to focus on strategic objectives that enhance the organization as a whole. This positions IT to become more of a collaborative partner." 

Collaboration throughout the organization is fast becoming more of an emphasis for IT. While it's no surprise IT executives frequently work closely with departments like marketing, legal, and human resources, some groups are seemingly easier for IT to work with than others. In fact, IT feels most effective working with the following departments:

• Operations (94 percent) 
• Finance (87 percent) 
• Product research and development (83 percent)

When asked to look ahead, IT leaders say connectivity will continue to be essential, citing the Internet of Things (IoT) trend to have the longest lasting positive impact for business users. Conversely, Bring Your Own Application (BYOA) initiatives aren't catching on with IT leaders. Eighty percent have not implemented BYOA at their organization and are still weighing the pros and cons. 

For more in-depth survey findings from the 2015 PMG IT and the UX Study, visit http://www.pmg.net/portfolio-items/2015-pmg-it-and-ux-survey/.