Balance cost and growth challenges ahead for CIOs in 2010
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Balance cost and growth challenges ahead for CIOs in 2010
New Delhi: As many companies plan to return to growth in 2010, there's increased demand on IT organizations for greater transparency and accountability, as they are aspiring to get back to growth in 2010. According to Gartner, very few IT leaders will receive budget increases in 2010. The 'mend and make do' approach that allowed companies to survive in the last 12 months will continue. "This year, IT leaders need a new type of budget, a rolling forecast that supports the return to growth. IT organizations need a budget that gives them the flexibility to respond to the changes that they know are going to come, and those that they cannot yet identify," said Barbara Gomolski, Managing Vice President, Gartner. "The pressure to improve efficiency and productivity will increase dramatically. If growth is faster, IT leaders will need radically new capabilities. The growth trajectory they follow will be determined by their ability to free up the resources to fund these," said Brian Gammage, Vice President and Gartner Fellow. Gartner also highlighted some of the key issues that IT leaders must address with a return to business growth. "Business users who go out and acquire applications are not thinking of the long-term consequences of their decision. Our research shows that when you own an application for 15 years, the cost to go live is, on average, eight percent of the total lifetime cost of ownership. Who is responsible for making sure you get the best possible value from the other 92 percent of those costs?" said Andy Kyte, Vice President and Gartner Fellow. The existing application portfolio needs to be rationalized and simplified. With scrutiny over operating expenses, it is necessary to examine the costs of running the business in more detail. As many enterprises and managers have been focused on cost, innovation and the viral spread of social media has accelerated. Social media instantiates the real relationships that exist in the organization and it uncovers the people most important to organizational performance. The analysts said most organizations are 'flying blind.' They don't know how work is really getting done. Social media can help solve this problem. "IT leaders can use social software to identify and examine the social networks at work in your organization. They can use it to make sure they understand who their key performers are, and to look for people who have expertise that they may not be utilizing effectively," said Carol Rozwell, Vice President, Gartner.

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