Seven steps to improving IT maintenance contracts

Analyst firm Garter has released a code of conduct for IT maintenance.

It is intended to bridge the divide between what maintenance contracts IT departments buy and what the industry sells.

CIOs and IT directors are attempting to slash IT maintenance costs, as a matter of urgency, to free up their already spare budgets.

According to analyst Gartner, IT maintenance, with its cost, difficulty and expenses, remains one of the most urgent and critical issues for organisations worldwide,

"Organisations need timely, reliable, cost-effective IT maintenance, but they just aren't getting it," said David Cappuccio, vice-president and chief of research at Gartner. "On the one hand, hardware and software maintenance represents the single largest IT expense for many organisations, but it's also a huge source of revenue for IT vendors. This fundamental conflict presents many problems for IT consumers."