UK IT managers are under more pressure than their European
counterparts. Julia Vowler reports
The downturn is well into its second year - how are IT managers
holding up? This year's Pressure Point Index survey indicates that
pressure on European IT managers has gone down. "Pressure on IT
managers has dropped significantly, from a pressure rating [last
year] of 226, to 179," says the report from IT services company,
Synstar (see box).
Safe as houses?
There is a bullish degree of optimism
among the 700 European IT managers questioned about their job
security. Only 9% said they were worried, 33% had "some concern"
(down from 43% last year) but 58% said they had no job security
concerns .
For IT managers and directors in the UK this may sound like
whistling in the dark - however difficult it may be to put hard
statistics on the numbers, senior IT job losses have occurred.
"There are a lot of high calibre qualified people unemployed. I see
over-qualified people going for jobs they have too much experience
for, but their mortgages need paying - it's disheartening," says
Ian Mullet, partner at executive search agency Odgers Ray
Berndtson.
"It's pretty grim out there," agrees Tim Gregory, former group IT
director at Miller Fisher. "I've heard of 500 applicants for one
position. A lot of IT directors are sitting tight."
David Roberts, chief executive of the The Infrastructure Forum
warns, "There's a queue of people ready to occupy [your] seat,"
This gloom is corroboration by the country-by-country breakdown of
the survey. The UK is singular in the degree of concern about job
security among IT directors. Only 42% of British IT directors
surveyed say they have "no concern" for their own position,
compared with 70% in the Benelux countries and 59% in France.
If UK IT managers and directors are sitting tight this may explain
why 30% of them say they have no worries about work-life balance,
compared with 46% of the more job-secure Dutch.
Management guru and president of IT directors' group Certus, David
Taylor, says, "IT directors have never been under more pressure,
particularly in respect of whether they are at the heart of the
business or not. Also, the IT directors I know are very interested
in their own personal survival, which would have to be a high
pressure situation."
Budgets
For IT directors in work, the priority task is
clear: to save money. "Organisations have battened down the hatches
about investing in new projects," says Roberts, "but there is now
additional emphasis on existing costs.
"Senior IT people are closely examining their costs and trying to
identify areas that can be taken out at relatively short notice -
in some organisations this can be by a large percentage," he said.
The pressure to demonstrate extreme value for money from IT is
great, says Gregory. "Users want the same from IT but for less
money." The skill of the IT director will therefore be to "balance
risk versus cost - how much can you do to spend less" and not let
the IT function fall over.
IT directors, says Roberts, are looking across the board to see
where savings can be made. "Are there more desktops than they need,
more licences, more services, more mips [millions of instructions
per second] - is everything delivering value? They are looking for
applications that can be retired early and asking, 'Can we stop
using this without jeopardising the business?'"
Balancing risk against cost is a fine judgement. One avenue being
explored, says Gregory, is cutting back on maintenance contracts.
"This could be sensible," says Roberts. "If you've done your
post-11 September contingency planning and you've seen you are
paying £250,000 a year for maintenance, but if the system goes
wrong the total cost of fixing it is only £200,000, why pay?"
"The pressure has not dropped," says Taylor, "though it may appear
to have done because there is less to actually do. There is still
plenty to think about and it gives IT directors the opportunity to
be proactive about their relationship with business and releasing
the potential of their workforce."
IT directors are also alleviating their own pressure by increasing
pressure on their suppliers. "Renegotiating supplier deals is a big
issue," says Gregory. "It's a buyer's market - take it or leave
it."
"The IT consumer view is of a pricing correction," agrees
Roberts.
An ill wind
Is there any up-side to this grim state of
affairs? It may be an ill wind that blows no one any good, but IT
directors who can demonstrate the ability to take out as much cost
as possible without injuring the business will do themselves a
favour in the job market. Such individuals, points out Roberts,
will be in demand.
"Financial acumen has become an increasing requirement," agrees
Mullet, pointing out that about 15% of IT director appointments are
now at board level. "That's a testament to how much IT directors
have gained [credibility]," he says.
Roberts agrees. "The IT function is now seen as an integral part of
the business and valued as such," he says.
But Mullet believes that the uncertain times mean that IT directors
are less likely to be lured from their jobs, no matter how tempting
the offer might be. "This is not the time to take risks with their
careers," he says.
For those who have sat tight there is, perhaps, cautious optimism
that they can see the recession through.
Roberts believes his members feel that most of the "people costs"
that can be cut, have been cut. "We had a spate of leavers in the
early part of the year, but not as many in the past six months," he
says. "Most organisations are now slim, with people profiles that
are lean and fit."
Roberts believes that IT managers and directors do not feel as much
under threat as they did a year ago. "Now they are concentrating on
doing their jobs and approaching their challenges with enthusiasm,"
he says.
According to Taylor, "The pressure this year is for making sure
organisations are agile, and can react as fast as possible, and
that IT directors can take the lead in their organisations."
There are also signs of a Dunkirk spirit abroad among IT managers
and directors, says Roberts. "They are sharing their views on how
to do cost-cutting quickly," he says.
"Business may not be looking so healthy, but the IT part of the
business is much better respected," he says.
Where are the pressure points?
"You can ask me for
anything except time," Napoleon told his generals. So for IT
generals, where does it all go?
- 29% of UK IT directors say they never complete their daily "to
do" lists
- 41% say they would need two more hours to complete it; 24% want
three more hours; and 18% four more
- 53% spend up to three hours a day in meetings; 32% up to an
hour; and 15% up to five hours
- 32% discuss IT once a month with the board; 18% quarterly; 10%
annually; 7% every week; and 28% never do at all
- 51% approach the board with advice; 28% wait to be asked; and
23% don't advise the board at all
- 90% would like the time and opportunity to gain more skills and
training so they can contribute more to business strategy
- 91% would like to spend less time trouble-shooting and more
time delivering strategic value to the business
- 59% would like to outsource infrastructure maintenance; 18%
user support; but 37% don't want to outsource anything.