State of IT in Europe Introduction 5 European IT Faces Unprecedented Change Whether IT is building apps to transform business European IT Has Entered the Age of the Customer processes, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into There has been a huge shift in IT’s role driven by the demands of highly empowered technology stacks or stepping up the employee and constantly connected customers. experience, the end goal is the same — empowering the business to put the customer at the centre of everything it does. With the proliferation of cloud, mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and even conversational interfaces, today’s customers are more connected to technology, brands, and each other than ever. They expect a high-level experience across all channels and business units that’s second 81% to none. It must be consistent, conveniently available on whichever medium the customer chooses and personalised to their interests. of European IT leaders believe IT is entering a new Businesses look to IT to enable that kind of era driven by customer customer experience. In Europe, 81% of IT expectations leaders say that over the next 12–18 months their department is entering a new era driven by customer expectations. Facing these expectations, IT is innovating for competitive differentiation and industry disruption, and pushing app development to an ever faster pace. Salesforce Research