Barriers are getting in the way Even though IT leaders are more likely to improve processes than other functions, there is still a lot of ground to make up. So, why aren’t IT leaders making better use of the process lever when they so clearly understand its value? There are a signi昀椀cant number of barriers preventing IT from optimizing departmental processes. The top four are: the complexity of business processes, legacy technology, siloed data and teams, and dif昀椀culties in identifying opportunities for improvement. Barriers to optimizing IT processes Complexity of 56% Legacy technology 42% Siloed data 40% processes and teams Opportunities to 38% Poor data 33% Resistance to 31% improve are hard quality change within to identify the organization Lack of process 24% Not a priority as 22% Lack of executive 21% ownership we’re often in buy-in 昀椀re昀椀ghting mode These responses highlight an overall disconnect within these enterprises. Departments speak their own languages, systems don’t play well together, and processes are hard to see, which makes it dif昀椀cult to move forward with optimization initiatives. Complexity is a challenge for IT The barriers encountered by different functions across enterprises are largely similar. However, IT leaders see process complexity as particularly challenging, with 56% citing this as a barrier compared with just 45% in the cross-functional survey. The Process Era is Here: IT Edition 11