Forget therecession, IT directors and CIOs should ask the board
for more money to invest in IT, according to analyst
Gartner.
Gartner is urging IT directors to prepare a plan for future IT
projects to support business growth by 1 July 2009. Waiting until
the end of the recession is too late
Many organisations are reporting that their staff are working at
close to full capacity. This demand level will almost certainly
increase when businesses start detecting a resurgence in demand
from customers, a more stable economic climate and a healthier
lending environment from which to access credit, Gartner said.
"As these improvements translate into new IT project demands to
help businesses identify new revenue and profit opportunities,
companies will need a way to manage the already high project load
with a new wave of projects," said Ken McGee, vice-president and
Gartner fellow.
If there is modest recovery in 2010, Gartner said IT directors
will need to take this into account when they put together their
2010 budget, which is usually prepared between August and the end
of 2009.
McGee said. "Having a completed plan will enable the
near-immediate allocation of funding and staffing for IT projects,
thus avoiding the need to take weeks to devise a plan after senior
executives mandate the need to support business growth
initiatives."