IT managers struggle to balance budgets and workload

ReThink Recruitment produced an interesting survey of IT directors this week, which we think highlights a major problem with the way companies approach IT in the UK. According to the survey of a range of blue chip FTSE 100 firms, two out of three IT directors are expecting their workload to increase in 2010, but around half are seriously worried about how they will deliver results within the timescale and budget they have been given.

The problem is growing too. ReThink conducted the same survey last year, when around 25% of respondents had the same concerns; so this year, further budget cuts have heaped even more pressure on overworked IT departments.

Michael Bennett, director of ReThink, said: “For many IT departments this will be the second consecutive year in which budgets have not kept pace with workload demands.

“The pressure clearly remains on IT directors to raise the output of their departments while in many cases budgets continue to be frozen or cut.

“Many organisations, from blue chip FTSE 100s to SMEs, will have put off upgrading outdated technology as the recession kicked in.

“As these mothballed projects are reviewed again, it is essential that realistic budgets are put in place.”

What makes matters worse it that during the recession, many IT projects were put on the back burner, and recruitment drives frozen, due to a lack of funds. Now, with the economy looking up but budgets still tight, there is a bottleneck of work to be done, a whole raft of staff to bring in, and hardly any money to do it with.