IT directors must add value during the economic slowdown
to help their businesses stay competitive.
Presenting to a full house yesterday at the Gartner Symposium in
Cannes, Mark McDonald, who heads up the analyst firm's executive
programme, said, "Cutting IT costs does not make sense. If you try
to contain costs you are making the assumption that every other
business will not move forward. Instead, some organisations have a
vision of how they want to move forward."
He said that information metrics, operational data, engaging
personnel and an
agile infrastructure are all key.
In his presentation, which looked at the CIO agenda for 2009,
McDonald urged IT directors to look at how IT can increase the
market value of the business. "Most businesses expect IT to deliver
a difference beyond managing IT costs," he said.
He said the traditional strengths of IT in delivering major
projects and automating business processes are no longer relevant.
He said the average cost of implementing new systems is going down
because of
Web 2.0 and portal technologies. "Implementationis almost
free," he said.
Companies have far more choice today for IT services than in the
past, with
cloud computing and
software as a service. All of this means that IT must prove
itself. "Unless IT can deliver a difference, business users will
look elsewhere for their IT services," he warned.
IT directors' goals for 2009
1. Link business and IT strategy
2. Deliver projects that enable the business to grow
3. Reduce the cost of IT