Improving IT processes still trumps cost cutting: Gartner

Angus Kidman
Wednesday, 25 February 2009 01:48

IT Industry - Market

Fiscal panic might be swamping C-level executives across the globe, but CIOs are still more focused on improving overall business strategies than in cutting costs, according to new research from Gartner.
Speaking at Gartner's Business Process Management summit in London, research vice president Michele Cantara noted that while financial issues had become more important for chief information officers in the wake of the current meltdown, it hadn't yet become their top priority issue.

"When we surveyed CIOs last year, improving business processes was number one in terms of their priorities. It's been number one since 2006 and it's still number one in 2009," Cantara  said.

However, financial management issues have become more important, with reducing costs moving from fifth to second place on the list of CIO priorities.

That willingness to adapt could make the difference between losing a job and keeping it, Gartner vice president and fellow Mark Raskino suggested during his opening keynote.

"When chief executives are at most risk of losing their jobs is if they don't move with the times. They get replaced because they didn't adapt to the new circumstances and change fast enough."

Raskino also noted that investment in IT was likely to increase, according to Gartner's research into spending plans by company management.

"The only thing that rises above IT is direct investment in the product itself. Everything else -- sales people, risk management, R&D, brand marketing, intellectual property, facilities, staff -- comes below IT in this list, which is really quite incredible. It's not a shock though because business leaders have been under-investing in IT for four or five years, with modest increases barely tracking inflation for global IT budgets. IT will be a resilient area."

Getting more efficient IT should help businesses plan for an eventual recovery. "Most chief executives don't expect a recovery this year," Raskino said. "But they're not going to wait until 2010 to work out a strategy for renewal and growth."

However, "cool" and "sexy" IT implementations would have to be shelved in favour of duller but more productive plans like improving order-to-cash processes. "You have to get down and dirty with some tactical, boring, boring projects," Raskino said. "It won't kill you -- it's like going on a diet after Christmas."