Maximising IT in a downturn

IT projects can be the first to be put on hold as companies tighten their belts to weather the current economic downturn, but as learned from the recent Oracle conference, companies that choose to cut their IT budgets run a greater risk of failing.

Conference speakers said that the economic downturn provides an opportunity for intelligent companies to stay competitive, and IT savvy solutions are what will give these companies the edge to win the race. Examples from world yacht racing as well as Formula 1 racing illustrated the conference’s main points. Round-the- world yacht races lasts weeks and quite often end in the same order as they began, but when a storm comes along, it is then that the wheat are separated from the chaff. In Formula 1 racing it is often only when the track is wet that we see a proper race.

Speakers noted that spending on IT solutions that leverage existing infrastructure will help with cut backs. (Example – eliminate duplicate letters going out to customers, especially ones that have already bought the product. This is green and saves money on a large scale.) As company CEOs spend less time with business contacts who say, “Don’t spend,” they can use this time more wisely with the CFOs to solidify the companies’ IT systems, leading to smart computing. In doing this, the companies will save money now and get a head start on the economic turn that will come.

What does this mean to us? We, as IT solutions/service providers, need to shape our message, services and prices to reflect a cost-saving solution to existing and prospective clients. If our clients understand that our services can minimise their risks, and increase their efficiency and productivity and thus net profits, we stand a good chance at not only surviving the economic downturn, but actually growing our businesses during this period.

Ian Scott
Customer Services Technician