We’ve learned a lot of interesting things about IT teams’ infrastructure needs, pain points, and challenges in our conversations with IT pros around the globe. But along the way, we’ve also learned some pretty interesting things about what IT pros are into in the world beyond the datacenter.
Here’s a sampling based on questions we’ve thrown out to our customer community and garnered on social media.
What IT is Watching
Ah, TV binging. Who doesn’t love curling up on the couch, popcorn in hand, and letting Netflix take over your life for the next several hours? Doesn’t matter if it’s new or tried and true; no one’s immune from the engrossing power of the Netflix binge.
We sought to unearth what Netflix shows IT likes best. Do they feature Black Mirror-levels of tech? Are they purely just for fun? Let’s take a look.
Overall, we had 6 main titles surface time and time again. Often beating each other out for the top spot, Stranger Things and Breaking Bad were the two heavy hitters. All together, about 30% of respondents chose one or the other. While Stranger Things led by a landslide on Xtribe, Twitter fans were swooning over Breaking Bad.
So, what about the other 70%? We have a mishmash of titles, but we’ll just cover the top four. In order, they are: Lost in Space (9%), The Office (8%), The Walking Dead (8%), and House of Cards (7%).
Evidently, IT Netflixers are a mixed bag, ranging from just-for-fun shows like The Office to serious ones like Lost in Space. But while some are all about shows, others prefer to cozy up with a good read.
What IT is Reading
Regardless of your interests or industry, there’s a plethora of blogs to fit into your reading routine. To narrow down our audience, we asked for respondents’ favorite tech-related blogs or publications, hoping to uncover some by-the-fireplace-worthy reads.
Surprise, surprise! We have another tie. Reddit.com/r/sysadmin and Howtogeek.com lead the pack at 11% each—nearly a quarter of all responses in total. Let’s round out the reading list with our other top two choices, both tied (again!) for second place: Theregister.com and Engadget.com.
What isn’t surprising is that all the blogs and publications our respondents highlighted live exclusively online. The paper era is becoming antiquated, but that doesn’t mean we can’t reminisce on the good ol’ days.
What IT is Missing
For many in IT, the love for technology goes way, way back. But like all tech, things either evolve, go out of style, or become memories. So, we asked what old technology IT missed the most, and we received a flurry of responses—some that caused waves of nostalgia in us as well.
So, what came out on top? Like our Netflix challenge, we had two prime contenders that beat out all the others: floppy disks and albums (both CDs and cassettes). The two combined totaled 29% of all responses. And it’s no surprise—both are, relatively speaking, recent, so they’re fresh on our nostalgia radar.
Other worthwhile, childhood-inducing tech includes the Walkman, Gameboys, and Commodore 64. The 80s and 90s produced most of our respondents’ most nostalgic tech, and it’s only a matter of time before the early 2000s (and the very technology we’re now calling revolutionary) fall into that memory cluster.
There’s something special about physical, albeit often clunky, technology. As we move towards an all-digital future, it’s easy to forget about the stepping stones we passed along the way. Nonetheless, it’s time to embrace change, and why not start with something fun? Apps!
What Apps IT is Liking
Nowadays, we rely on applications for just about everything: navigating us through unfamiliar spaces, chatting with anyone with a single tap, and listening to all of our favorite music. To really boil down what’s most indispensable, we asked our respondents to choose one app they can’t live without.
A plethora of voices chimed in to share their favorites, and we’ve identified the top 5. Almost neck-and-neck, WhatsApp and Gmail were the top 2 competitors. At 16% and 13% respectively, it’s clear these two are indispensable, but Google Maps, Twitter, and Spotify are not far behind, all together totalling 23% of all responses.
Interestingly, few “just for fun” apps made the cut (no Candy Crush here!). On a desert island, we might opt for a little distraction, but these top-performing apps are critical for everything from maintaining connections to simply not getting lost.
Conclusion
We’ve simply scratched the surface of the diverse and vivid voices of IT professionals, and beneath lies a world we’ve yet to explore.
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