How Many Tools Are Enough?

IT organizations use software tools to manage at least some of the technology stack. But the Ipswitch study suggests that a little more simplicity can help manage an increasingly complex technology environment. The research found that organizations use a combination of non-integrated tools; and, nearly two in five organizations – 38 percent – use more than three to monitor their networks, with many using 10 to 20, the study found.

Yet even with the tools, 44 percent of IT teams said they were either not monitoring everything they would like to monitor, or didn’t know if they were, Ipswitch reported. Lack of money appeared to be the chief reason, with 28 percent citing insufficient budget, 18 percent a lack of time or insufficient staff, and 25 percent blaming a combination of a lack of money and time, along with undiscovered devices and the complexity of the IT environment, according to the results.

Danny Stamp, chief technology officer at Neoscope, a managed services provider in Portsmouth, N.H., said his company tries to ease the pain by sharing the data from those tools within its service offerings. So far, that approach has been “very, very successful,” he said.