Juniper Networks today released a study that shows enterprises that place the most importance on information technology and are willing to adopt new technology do better financially. Juniper commissioned the research by TNS, which surveyed 560 companies with revenues greater than $100 million in North America, Europe and Asia.

A key finding, according to Juniper, was that businesses that treated IT as a business enabler and a strategic asset in their performance had, on average, 30% higher revenue growth than other companies. This group made up about 25% of those surveyed.

Juniper officials said the survey is proof that there is a return on investment for IT spending.

This IT leadership group is more likely to have automated processes and is less tolerant of network outages, the research showed. In addition, the companies are focused on productivity and operational efficiency, and are 30% more likely to have mobile workers.

In addition, they are 40% more likely to have wireless local area networks and 50% more likely to use IP-based virtual private networks for wide-area network connections. They are 40% more likely to adopt MPLS technology as a network core.