Most financial services organisations arenot planning to ramp up their ITsystemsin preparation for a business
upturn.
A survey of 100 financial services companies shows 60% do not
anticipate investing more in their IT as the economy recovers.
And 45% say they believe an upturn will not create any
additional pressure for their IT departments.
The findings have raised concerns that businesses will be caught
on the hop when the economy does pick up, says Alwyn Welch, CEO at
Parity, which conducted the survey.
"Most people expect recovery to start in financial services. The
IT teams are suddenly going to be under huge pressure to ramp up
delivery," he said.
"Many businesses have been good at cutting back and stopping
projects at the start of the recession. They have to be as good and
as ready to react to the upturn," he said.
The research shows businesses have cut back their IT spending
dramatically. Nearly 20% have more than ten projects waiting for
sign-off.
But 71% said budget constraints are preventing them getting
ready for the upturn. Only 14% have approached their HR departments
about future staffing needs.
Parity predicts that financial services companies will ramp up
IT spending in the next six months by investing in IT systems to
improve efficiency or to meet new financial regulations.
The 40% of companies planning for the upturn will be in a better
competitive position, it says.
But concerns that the recession could turn into a "double dip"
mean they are likely to recruit IT contractors rather than hire
permanent staff.
"I think there will be a lot of architect and project management
type skills in demand. You will need people to design and manage
project, and to interact between IT guys and users," he says.
Technical skills, which allow organisations to build projects
rapidly, such as include .Net, Oracle, and Adobe, are likely to be
in demand, said Welch.
But it is too early to talk about salaries going up.
"
We won't see salaries going up until people who have stayed in
employment through the recession being poached by rivals," he
said.
| Main findings of the survey |
|---|
| 86% of financial companies haven't found skilled IT workers for
incoming projects |
| 59% of financial organisations have not yet started planning
for the upturn |
| Only 14% have briefed their HR teams or agencies about their IT
staffing needs |
| 45% of IT directors in financial organisations do not think the
upturn will put pressure on their departments |
| 71% claim that budget constraints are stopping them get ready
for the upturn |
19% of respondents have more than 10 IT projects waiting to be
signed off |