Boardrooms will put pressure on IT managers for up to 18 months
as they attempt to squeeze more business value from IT, according
to the latest research from IT manager forum
CIO Connect.
At the same time businesses, faced with the
current
economic uncertainty, are demanding that IT managers achieve
more with less, the survey of IT managers shows.
Nick Kirkland, CEO at CIO Connect, said the economic downturn is
casting a cloud over the forecasts of IT managers for the 18 months
ahead.
"In these circumstances, it is certainly important for IT
departments to be driving value from their existing applications
infrastructure, but the pressure of tougher economic times can also
provide the perfect environment for IT departments to create
imaginative and innovative solutions to assist their businesses to
gain a competitive edge," he said.
Demands from company exexutives for better value and lower costs
have the biggest impact on the role and structure of the IT
department until the end of 2009, according to 80% and 71% of IT
managers respectively.
Almost 60% expect budgets to shrink and more than half of these
expect cuts of between 5% and 10%. But the majority of those that
expect budgets to rise below 5%.
Most IT managers believe board directors view IT as a useful
business function, but only 20% think it is seen as a strategic
contributor to the business.
The CIO Connect Team conference on will be held next week from 1
July.