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LaunchDarkly, a leading platform in feature management, has unearthed vital insights from new research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. Their findings reveal that a significant 56% of organisations experience software release issues at least once a month. In our fast-paced digital age, the swift turnover of software poses its own risks.
The pace at which businesses release software has never been quicker, yet with speed comes the hazard of frequent outages. A glaring example of this occurred in February, affecting 1.2 million UK banking customers, compelling institutions to upgrade systems while compensating impacted users. This growing trend underscores the importance of robust feature flag management to curtail downtimes and enhance customer reliability.
The data indicates that 54% of organisations view managing risks as a top priority. However, only 39% consider their methods effective, while 71% acknowledge the need for improvement. Real-time risk monitoring remains a challenge; merely 6% detect issues instantly, and nearly a third take a day or more. Even with 91% utilising performance tracking, there's a compelling demand for better real-time solutions.
Software release issues reverberate through customer and workforce satisfaction. Among those frequently affected, 48% have faced moderate to severe disruptions. The stress weighs heavily on engineering teams, with more than half admitting that addressing release errors is a notable pain point. Moreover, 61% note diminished productivity upon encountering these roadblocks.
"Recent events have made the risks of software outages more visible to customers," observes Edith Harbaugh, co-founder of LaunchDarkly. With increased software rollouts, companies can leverage technology to launch features securely, cutting risks and fostering innovation.
A shift in deployment strategies is in play, as 17% of organisations still rely on big-bang deployments, while 48% prefer phased approaches, and 32% employ a mix. Clear pain points pave the way for phased deployments, underscoring a need to bolster release risk management strategies.
Over the coming year, organisations are set on enhancing risk strategies, focusing on boosting skills in software risk management (48%), elevating importance within the organisation (38%), and upgrading tools (31%). This holistic method promises a future where disruption turns into an opportunity, making software deployment smoother and more reliable for all stakeholders involved.
