How Companies Are Operating Their Services During COVID-19
Insights from a Survey of Over 500 IT and Development Experts
A recent survey commissioned by Atlassian revealed that nearly all participants (96%) reported that some or all of their employees began working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This sudden transition to remote work has drastically changed how organizations are managed. Atlassian aimed to understand how teams responsible for keeping the lights on have been affected by these changes.
The survey, which included over 500 IT and development professionals across the United States, provided valuable insights into how organizations are managing their incident response processes, the impact of automation on incident management, and their future plans and investments. Here, we take a closer look at the effects of the global pandemic on incident management and the operation of always-on services.
Increased Service Demands and Usage
Almost overnight, offices shifted to homes, which had a profound impact on work schedules and productivity, making the continuous availability of tools like Zoom and Slack critical. The survey found that 73% of respondents noticed an increase in demand for the services they were working on. In March, Atlassian announced free cloud versions of its core products—Jira Software, Confluence, and Jira Service Desk. Following this, new sign-ups increased by approximately 125%. Despite this surge in demand for cloud and remote services, users expect the same level of availability. IT and development teams need more tools than ever to quickly respond to, resolve, and learn from incidents to keep their services running. These teams are the unsung heroes who ensure the continuity of services relied upon for work, socializing, and entertainment.
Slower Delivery and Response Times Despite Increased Demand
Just over half of the survey respondents—51%—reported that their incident response times had slowed since they started working remotely. The increased demand has negatively impacted response teams.
This additional pressure on both systems and teams may have led to increased scrutiny of the intensity and rigor of initial SLA (Service Level Agreement) rules. Likely due to caution during these uncertain times, 66% of respondents reported that their teams had slowed down the frequency of software delivery. By slowing down release cycles, teams are attempting to add extra quality control; however, as discussed by participants in the latest Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) panel, this could lead to higher incident risk due to slower feedback loops and bundled releases.
Moving Forward in the New Normal
There’s no doubt that the current environment has stress-tested not only many companies' ability to stay in business but also the practices used to maintain and operate their services continuously. During these times, we’ve seen increased demand for services, and now is not the time to pull back. Some of the world’s most innovative companies typically develop software dozens of times a day, and organizations are encouraged to continue doing so. This sense of agility is becoming increasingly important as industries strive to keep up with the pace of change while keeping their services online. In the meantime, to learn more about Atlassian's Incident Management methods during these unprecedented times, you can access the Atlassian Incident Management Handbook.
Atlassian Incident Management Handbook