Feb 11 2008
Will Belt-Tightening Mean Less Technology Spending?
A recent article by Steve Lohr in the New York Times caught my attention. He was talking about the effects of the expected economic downturn (ok he used the recession word) on technology spending. That followed up by a related article on the InformationWeek site this week coming to the same conclusion. I’m glad to see the mainstream media is not playing their usual role of “Chicken Little” declaring that the technology sky is falling.
We see it the same way.
Cycles of economic boom and “correction” are normal and really not something to panic about. Whether the economy is bullish or bearish doesn’t change fundamental business execution. In fact, forward-thinking companies use periods of economic turnmoil to accelerate investments in technology at a time when maybe their competition is being conservative. When the ecomony starts rolling again, they come out ahead.
Most of the CIOs and business executives we’ve talked with in the last few months expect the economy to get worse before it gets better. But the laws of supply and demand will eventually catch up and the global economy will improve. In the meantime, global spending on business software is actually increasing in 2008, to $191 billion according to industry analyst powerhouse Gartner Group. These projects may shift their focus to efficiency and productivity gains as companies try to lower costs. And some companies might slow down ‘risky’ innovation initiatives. In any case, hundreds of billions of dollars are still going to be spent on technology projects. The success of these initiatives rests squarely on the communication between business people and IT. Visualization becomes the key strategy for getting these projects delivered on time and on budget; whether you’re innovating or tightening your belt.
The bottom line? Technology companies that solve big problems will do just fine. And visualization solves one of the biggest problems out there.