Next-Level DEX

Every time an employee opens their laptop, signs into the company network, uses IT systems or tools, or calls the help desk, they're having a digital employee experience (DEX). And those daily interactions shape everything from employee satisfaction to operational efficiency to innovation.

The business impact of effectively managed DEX is substantial. IT professionals overwhelmingly believe strong DEX positively affects employee productivity (87% say this), satisfaction (85%) and retention (77%). A well-designed DEX strategy ensures employees have the tools and support needed to thrive in digital-first work environments.

87%

of IT teams say strong DEX positively affects productivity.

 

85%

of IT teams say strong DEX positively affects satisfaction.

 

77%

of IT teams say strong DEX positively affects employee retention.

DEX's influence extends beyond employee performance and attitudes. 89% of IT professionals say prioritizing DEX has a positive impact on security efforts because improving digital experience disincentivizes unsafe workarounds.

By investing in DEX, CIOs can enhance their role — from being seen as primarily focused on mundane operations, to being strategic contributors and business accelerators.

Dennis Kozak
Chief Executive Officer, Ivanti

Yet Ivanti’s 2025 DEX survey shows that both adoption and integration of DEX-management strategies have stalled. DEX adoption rates have plateaued. In 2025, 77% of IT professionals say their organizations measure and manage DEX, up just 2 points since 2023. And only 50% call DEX a “high priority” or greater in 2025 — a figure that has remained flat year over year.

Enterprise companies in particular are struggling to operationalize DEX management due to their aging legacy platforms and complex ecosystems. In that group, just 67% report they measure and track DEX, compared to 81% of mid-sized companies.

With constant tech disruption and relentless pressure to adopt new tools, organizations face enormous innovation demands, making DEX just another competing priority in an already crowded field. Only 41% of IT professionals say they have “high buy-in” from their company leaders (down 3 points since last year). And the majority (57%) report their company leaders say they value DEX management, but in reality, do little to support it.

Perhaps most troubling: IT professionals report a relatively high level of confidence about their own organizations’ DEX achievements even while Ivanti’s research points to multiple areas of underperformance. For example, 77% say they measure and track DEX, and 85% say DEX is a high priority.

Yet when we drill down to specifics, we see few organizations (23%) report their use of DEX strategies and tactics is “advanced” — i.e., includes comprehensive DEX monitoring, measurement and automation. And many (42%) say they've invested in DEX solutions but still struggle to automate processes and monitor endpoints.

This disconnect matters, because the cost of getting DEX wrong keeps rising. Ivanti’s research highlights all the ways tech complexity and sprawl throw sand in the gears of the modern enterprise.

Digital friction creates cascading problems throughout the organization, starting with its corrosive effect on office workers. Office workers give their workplace tech tools only a “B-” grade, with older workers expressing even less satisfaction than their younger colleagues.

Employees report being interrupted by tech problems 3.6 times per month on average, plus another 2.7 interruptions from mandatory security updates. Assuming each interruption takes at least 15 minutes to resolve, that’s 1.6 hours of lost productivity per employee per month. For a company of 2,000 employees with an average fully loaded hourly cost of $100, this translates to $320,000 in lost productivity monthly — nearly $4 million annually.

What types of tech problems are typical? Slow network connections and poor application and device performance all hamper productivity. These problems aren’t trivial. Nearly 2 in 3 office workers tell us negative experiences with tools and apps actually affect their mood at work.

And demographic shifts — especially higher tech expectations among Gen Z and millennial workers, which we'll explore in detail later — are raising the bar for user experience and security across the organization. Yet many companies aren't taking steps to meet that higher bar.

Digital friction also creates upstream challenges for IT professionals. Tech stack complexity is preventing organizations from prioritizing DEX. Some 41% of IT professionals cite complexity as an issue that prevents their organization from prioritizing DEX — up 7 points in just one year.

Failure to address subpar digital experiences places a significant burden on IT professionals; for example, it increases employee frustration, which has spillover effects on the help desk. Results from a 2024 Ivanti survey found nearly 1 in 4 IT professionals (23%) had an IT colleague who resigned due to workplace burnout. And when digital friction is left unchecked, organizations may face broader productivity plateaus, making it particularly costly.

Organizations can't afford DEX complacency, especially as shifting generational expectations put ever-greater pressure on IT to deliver high-performing digital experiences.

Younger employees enter the workforce with fundamentally different relationships with technology — they expect seamless, intuitive experiences and have little patience for clunky systems or workarounds. As these digital natives become a larger portion of the workforce, organizations that fail to prioritize DEX will find themselves dealing with increasingly frustrated employees who simply won't tolerate the friction that previous generations accepted.

Ivanti asked IT professionals about their organizations’ level of DEX maturity, or how well their companies use DEX methods and tools. In 2025, 23% claim their companies are advanced, meaning they have comprehensive DEX monitoring, strong security measures and effective remediation and automation — and these systems are fully integrated with security and HR. DEX maturity varies significantly by industry. Tech companies score highly across all major DEX domains, while government and healthcare trail significantly.

Despite most claiming high to moderate maturity levels, when we dig into the details, it’s clear many organizations are struggling to apply DEX concepts. Many important DEX activities have fairly low adoption rates. For example: Just 54% monitor application performance, and 59% manage user productivity (e.g., measuring employees’ digital friction points).

Quantifying the impact of DEX is critical — but adoption of DEX measurement tactics remains low, despite more optimistic, self-reported DEX maturity levels. Nearly half (48%) rely on DEX scores, and 42% say they track device and application performance metrics.

Yet other DEX best practices — such as tracking ticket resolution speed and CSAT scores — are used by only a small minority of companies surveyed.

What tools do companies use to manage DEX?

While IT service management is table stakes (70% adoption) for most organizations, other DEX-supporting solutions have significantly lower adoption rates, with little change from 12 months ago. For example, digital experience management tools are used by 47%, and digital experience monitoring solutions by 36%. Only 32% use a unified endpoint management tool.

To track IT assets, most organizations use an asset- or configuration-management database (59%), but 34% still rely on spreadsheets to track IT assets — a concerningly high number.

Spreadsheets create significant problems: increased human error, outdated or inconsistent data and systems that don't scale as companies grow. These issues end up hurting both IT efficiency and the employee experience, since it becomes much harder to keep asset information accurate and current — which means less-seamless support when people need help.

DEX integration efforts have also stalled. Only 24% report their DEX solutions are highly integrated, down 4 points from last year.

Ivanti’s research shows many companies simply aren't implementing fundamental DEX best practices, even though most (67%) claim their maturity level is either a 3 or 4 — the highest levels of DEX maturity. The gap suggests organizations may be confusing having digital experience tools with delivering an optimized digital experience. While DEX-supporting tools are critical, they only deliver meaningful results when deployed as part of a comprehensive DEX framework and strategy rather than as standalone solutions.

On average, office workers give their help desks a “B” grade — not bad, but with plenty of room for improvement. Ivanti’s research points to the specific steps companies should take on the path to scoring an “A.”

Reduce tech sprawl

Tech complexity and sprawl are rising concerns among IT professionals. Organizations accumulate more tools and systems without streamlining what they already have — forcing IT teams to manage and maintain an increasingly unwieldy ecosystem of disconnected platforms.

Despite these challenges, consolidating tools is not a high priority for most organizations surveyed (63%). The finding is unfortunate, considering that the majority of IT professionals (74%) report clear evidence of technology overlaps and redundancies within their organizations.

By addressing tech complexity, CIOs can help both overstretched IT teams and frustrated office workers.

For IT teams, reducing complexity is essential to making DEX a real priority. Nearly 2 in 3 IT professionals say the demands of managing day-to-day IT operations are so overwhelming that DEX takes a back seat.

Organizations can start by consolidating overlapping tools, standardizing on fewer platforms, leveraging automated discovery to identify unknown endpoints and implementing comprehensive asset management to gain visibility into what's actually being used across the organization.

Ensure IT and security teams are aligned on DEX strategy

Poor digital experience drives risky workarounds and shadow IT — for example, employees turning to personal devices and unsanctioned tools to get their jobs done. 27% of office workers say they regularly use unauthorized tools and apps out of frustration with their employer-provided tools.

When IT and security teams are aligned, organizations gain a double advantage: stronger cybersecurity protection and greater IT operational efficiency.

Focus on the help desk

When asked where they turn for help with technology problems, nearly 40% of office workers say they bypass employer-provided solutions entirely, typically because they can solve problems faster on their own than by waiting for help desk staff.

Employees who are struggling with workplace technology deserve better. And IT professionals largely agree: The most cited DEX priority among IT teams is improving the help desk experience.

What do help desk improvements look like?

For IT teams, it appears as leveraging AI and automation to cut down on thankless work. Right now, help desks are bogged down by repetitive, time-consuming tasks (34%), long resolution times (34%) and limited resources (31%). Automation can tackle these issues, reducing overall ticket volume and eliminating repetitive requests. Nearly half of organizations (48%) say automating repetitive tasks is a DEX priority.

Self-healing — the ability of systems to automatically detect, diagnose and remediate issues with minimal human intervention — is increasingly critical for maintaining operational resilience. AI and automation make this possible by handling routine tasks like password resets, basic troubleshooting and optimizing device performance in real-time, freeing up our human engineers for complex problem-solving that AI can't handle.

Sterling Parker
Senior Vice President of Global Solutions and Services, Ivanti

For employees, improvements mean deploying AI-powered chatbots and self-service portals to give them the help desk experience they prefer. Ivanti’s research shows that employee interest in using IT chatbots is rising — likely due to improvements in AI capabilities and user experience. Today, 36% say they would use a chatbot over a human to solve their IT problem, up 5 points in just one year. Even among those who prefer human interaction, 66% would consider a hybrid solution that lets them escalate to a human agent when the chatbot can't quickly resolve their issue.

Such improvements could help narrow a sizable gap in employees’ experience with resolving tech issues. Nearly half of workers (49%) now prefer fixing IT problems themselves rather than contacting the help desk — up 4 points in just one year. Yet only 13% say it's "very easy" to actually do this today.

Upskill and empower employees

The number of workplace tools is exploding faster than employees can master them, yet organizations are not doing enough to support their learning. Nearly half of office workers say they're left to teach themselves how to use new technology — a source of frustration for employees and inefficiency for the business.

The advancement of AI tools in the workplace will only make matters worse.

Generative AI is already seeing widespread employee adoption: 84% of IT professionals and 56% of non-IT office workers use AI tools to boost productivity at work. Even so, organizations have been slow to provide AI training. Among companies that haven't banned AI use, only 40% have provided training, while another 24% plan to offer it soon. These training gaps can be costly. Employees using AI without guidance risk security breaches and noncompliance.

DEX solutions serve as a gateway for AI adoption. By analyzing employee interactions with technology in real time, DEX provides data-driven insights into potential workflow bottlenecks, enabling self-healing, making changes to the environment and alerting IT to make necessary adjustments. DEX becomes more than just a strategy for employee experience; it is the mechanism through which AI takes root in company culture, productivity and operations.

Dennis Kozak
Chief Executive Officer, Ivanti

Give employees the option to choose their tools

Currently, office workers give their workplace tools a "B-" grade. Even more telling, 65% say that negative experiences with tools and apps actually impact their mood and morale at work.

One potential solution: Give employees more options to choose their own technology. Two-thirds of office workers (67%) say choosing their own workplace devices is important, but only 36% actually get that option. This gap is even wider among younger workers, with 77% of Gen Z employees saying device choice matters to them.

Invest in transformative AI

AI by itself hasn't been the complete game changer many expected — just 21% of office workers say AI is significantly improving their productivity. But when AI tools are integrated thoughtfully with existing tools and workflows, they can deliver meaningful results. The key is focusing on practical applications that solve actual problems.

For example, most companies have automated basic IT operations like security patch management (72%) and IT ticket routing (67%), but significant opportunities remain. Nearly 40% still haven't automated password resets — missing an easy win that could eliminate countless routine support tickets.

What's holding organizations back from broader adoption of automation and AI? Security and compliance concerns top the list (42%), followed by budget constraints (35%) and skills gaps (33%).

Organizations face hurdles when adopting automation and AI. Empowering safe AI use means recognizing it's already happening, setting clear guidelines, providing security training and treating AI tools like a new hire — evaluating and monitoring them responsibly to foster both innovation and protection. This approach helps not only in mitigating risks but also in building a culture of trust and transparency.

Brooke Johnson
Chief Legal Counsel, SVP HR and Security, Ivanti

The encouraging news is that employees are ready for more automation. Nearly 3 in 4 office workers (73%) say AI and automation will actually increase their job satisfaction, and most expect moderate-to-high productivity gains – even if most have yet to realize them.

CIOs will lead the transformation — if they can make the business case

Despite Ivanti's research finding that DEX budget increases have stalled year over year, the pressure on CIOs to demonstrate the overall business impact of IT initiatives will continue to grow.

The research shows the positive impact that effectively managed DEX has on boosting employee productivity, satisfaction and retention — a clear sign that CIOs must make a stronger business case for these investments.

As DEX becomes a greater strategic imperative for organization, CIOs have the opportunity to evolve their roles from operational to a key strategic business leader. To do this successfully, it will be critical for CIOs to track and measure the impact of DEX improvements on business growth and innovation. CIOs who can demonstrate DEX's business value can become transformational leaders in their organizations.

AI will drive expanded DEX intelligence

AI will transform help desks beyond the break-fix cycle that has defined IT support for decades. Instead of waiting for employees to report problems, AI will analyze employee behavior patterns and system performance data to identify friction points early — for example, flagging issues when multiple employees struggle with the same workflow or when certain applications consistently cause delays. This creates a new level of digital experience intelligence, correlating enormous amounts of data across device management, security and asset performance to give help desks real-time visibility into the employee experience.

Effective asset management and real-time access to digital experience data will empower IT teams to find patterns and proactively identify and resolve potential problems before they impact employees.

Proactive IT will rise or fall on the strength of the organization’s infrastructure

Ivanti’s research found that DEX integration efforts have plateaued year over year. Currently, only 24% of IT teams report that their DEX solutions are highly integrated. A proactive, strategic approach to DEX will require organizations to integrate DEX solutions seamlessly across all IT and business systems, including but not limited to IT operations management, IT asset management and enterprise service management. These systems must be integrated seamlessly, so IT can “meet users where they actually are” and provide a true end-to-end solution.

Providing employee self-service options will reduce IT friction

Forward-thinking companies will empower employees by providing more self-service tools, training resources and AI-powered chatbots, all of which allow employees to resolve issues quickly and potentially without involving the help desk at all.

AI self-service tools can provide employees with resources like comprehensive knowledge bases, FAQs and community forums — all of which will make employees more efficient and independent, reducing the burden on IT teams. The payback is clear: fewer help desk tickets, optimized asset replacement cycles‌ and IT teams focused on innovation instead of crisis management.

The IT organization will become the nerve center for employee experience

Organizations will increasingly use DEX to create real-time visibility into the employee experience, monitoring not just system performance but how employees actually feel about their digital workplace. This means tracking employee satisfaction and productivity metrics together, identifying when technology contributes to stress or inefficiency‌ and using that data to proactively improve the experience. The end goal of these advancements goes beyond just technical optimization — it empowers your workforce to be more productive and engaged, which ultimately drives better business outcomes.

Organizations will expand from a piecemeal DEX approach to a critical business strategy

DEX solutions will no longer be viewed narrowly as an IT-based reporting tool but as a strategic investment that drives substantial business outcomes.

Traditionally, many organizations have boxed DEX in primarily as an IT-focused solution for monitoring and observability. This has led to piecemeal, ad hoc outcomes rather than a comprehensive, systemic strategy.

As DEX solutions advance to incorporate real-time analytics, sentiment data and AI-powered predictions and recommendations, DEX can provide teams with valuable insights on improving key business outcomes. Companies will increasingly recognize that DEX requires broader organizational buy-in to succeed. The future belongs to companies that broaden their approach toward business outcomes — using DEX as a strategic platform that drives improvements across the organization.