Over Half of 'Lone IT Staff' Say Company Systems Would Halt and Operations Disrupted If They Were Absent!

Aiat-OEC Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Okayama City; President & CEO: Norio Kusuda), provider of the no-code business application creation tool '@pocket (At Pocket)', has conducted a 'Reality Survey on the Risk of Work Centralization among Lone IT Staff' targeting company employees (men and women aged 20s–50s) who work alone on information systems within their organizations (hereinafter referred to as 'lone IT staff'). This survey revealed the realities of workload, centralization, and business continuity risks when such individuals are absent.

<Background>

While corporate DX initiatives are accelerating, many companies remain dependent on 'lone IT staff' who practically manage internal system operations and maintenance single-handedly due to a severe shortage of IT talent. In particular, June—a period following bonus payments and overlapping with personnel transfers—is a time when employee turnover is high, making risks related to staff departure and business continuity more apparent, especially when responsibilities are concentrated on a single individual. The risk that 'if the lone IT staff member is absent, the company’s systems will suffer significant impact' is a critical management issue that companies cannot ignore. However, there is a lack of objective data based on frontline voices regarding the realities of excessive workloads, awareness of centralization, and solutions sought by employees. Therefore, Aiat-OEC conducted this 'Reality Survey on the Risk of Work Centralization among Lone IT Staff' targeting employees who work alone on information systems within their companies.

<Survey Summary>

・More than half of lone IT staff reported that their overall workload has increased in the past 1–2 years

・The main work-related issues currently faced by lone IT staff include 'high workload and stress' and 'having to handle non-specialist systems alone'

・Over half of lone IT staff responded that if they were absent, company systems would halt and operations would be disrupted

・Over 70% of lone IT staff feel it is necessary to resolve the current centralization of their work

・Top three measures considered necessary to resolve centralization and excessive workload in IT roles: 1st 'new hiring or increasing IT staff', 2nd 'preparing manuals and specifications', 3rd 'introducing DX tools'

・Over 70% of lone IT staff believe that establishing an environment where operations can be centrally managed by frontline employees would reduce their own workload

<Survey Overview>

Survey Period: May 29–31, 2026

Survey Method: Online survey

Target Respondents: Company employees (men and women aged 20s–50s) who work alone on information systems within their organizations

Number of Respondents: 330

Panel Provider: RC Research Data

*Due to rounding to the second decimal place, the total response rate may not sum to 100.0%.

More than half of lone IT staff reported an increase in overall workload over the past 1–2 years

Regarding the question, 'How has your overall workload as a lone IT staff member changed in the past 1–2 years?', the top response was 'slightly increased' at 29.1%, followed by 'no change' at 25.5%, and 'significantly increased' at 20.9%. Combining the first and third responses totals 50.0%, indicating that half of lone IT staff reported an increase in their overall workload over the past 1–2 years, to varying degrees.

The main work-related issues currently faced by lone IT staff include 'high workload and stress' and 'having to handle non-specialist systems alone'

For the question, 'What are the main work-related issues you currently face while working as a lone IT staff member within your company?', the top response was 'high workload and stress' at 36.4%, followed by 'having to handle non-specialist systems alone' at 35.2%, and 'no one within the company to consult with' at 33.9%. These results reveal that the primary issues currently faced by lone IT staff are 'high workload and stress' and 'having to handle non-specialist systems alone'.

Over half of lone IT staff responded that if they were absent, company systems would halt and operations would be disrupted

Regarding the question, 'What impact would your absence have on company system operations?', the top response was 'some systems would halt, disrupting operations' at 37.3%, followed by 'temporary delays would occur but operations could continue' at 33.6%, and 'complete halt, causing major operational disruption' at 17.3%. Combining the first and third responses totals 54.6%, clearly showing that over half of lone IT staff believe that if they were absent, company systems would either fully or partially halt, disrupting operations to varying degrees.

Over 70% of lone IT staff feel it is necessary to resolve the current centralization of their work

For the question, 'To what extent do you feel it is necessary to resolve the current centralization of your work?', the top response was 'somewhat feel it is necessary' at 39.7%, followed by 'strongly feel it is necessary' at 31.2%, and 'do not feel it is necessary' at 21.5%. Combining the first two responses totals 70.9%, revealing that over 70% of lone IT staff feel, to varying degrees, that it is necessary to resolve the current centralization of their work.

Top three measures considered necessary to resolve centralization and excessive workload in IT roles: 1st 'new hiring or increasing IT staff', 2nd 'preparing manuals and specifications', 3rd 'introducing DX tools'

For the question, 'What measures do you think are necessary to resolve centralization and excessive workload in IT roles?', the top response was 'new hiring or increasing IT staff' at 38.8%, followed by 'preparing manuals and specifications' at 35.8%, and 'introducing DX tools' at 34.9%. These results show that many lone IT staff believe that resolving centralization and excessive workload requires not only securing human resources such as 'new hiring or increasing IT staff', but also systemic measures and tool adoption such as 'preparing manuals and specifications' and 'introducing DX tools'.

Over 70% of lone IT staff believe that establishing an environment where operations can be centrally managed by frontline employees would reduce their own workload

Finally, for the question, 'Do you think that establishing an environment where operations can be centrally managed by frontline employees would reduce your own workload?', the top response was 'somewhat believe it would help' at 43.3%, followed by 'strongly believe it would help' at 29.4%, and 'do not believe it would help' at 20.9%. Combining the first two responses totals 72.7%, clearly showing that over 70% of lone IT staff believe that, to varying degrees, establishing an environment where frontline employees can centrally manage operations would reduce their own workload.