Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions
November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.
Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group
The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.
Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award
Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »September 09, 2008 — IDG News Service —
The weak economy is affecting IT spending at nearly half of large enterprises in North America and Europe, but demand for services remains strong, according to a Forrester Research poll of about 950 senior IT managers.
Forty-three percent of companies have slashed their overall IT budgets this year and 24 percent have put off discretionary spending. Twenty-eight percent reported no impact.
"People are moving forward with things like upgrades to their ERP. Things haven't completely dried up," said Forrester analyst John McCarthy. "[But] I tell you one thing -- this doesn't bode well for those Vista upgrades. That's one of those discretionary things where people are going to say, we don't need that headache."
Forrester's data shows the situation to be significantly worse in North America, where 49 percent of companies said they have cut their IT budgets, compared to 31 percent in Europe. However, McCarthy noted that since the study was conducted in late May and early June, economic conditions in Europe have further deteriorated.
In terms of vertical markets, the financial services sector was particularly hard hit, with 49 percent reporting IT budget reductions, compared to 39 percent of the media, entertainment, and leisure industry organizations polled.
"The vertical stuff tells the story about what's going on in the economy," McCarthy said.
Around 2002, the IT sector "was ground zero for the slowdown" and this time around it has centered on the financial, real estate and automotive vertical markets, he said. But areas like industrial equipment manufacturing are doing well because of factors like the infrastructure buildup in China, according to McCarthy.
Meanwhile, only 16 percent of respondents have cut services spending. Forty-three percent plan to outsource more infrastructure, 45 percent intend to do additional application outsourcing and 43 percent are going to push more work offshore.
However, 70 percent said they will probably try to negotiate lower rates with their providers and 40 percent cited inconsistent or poor service quality.
"I think what it tells is the story of the large 'Battlestar Galactica' deals," McCarthy said. "People aren't happy with them. They're hard to govern, a lot of times they're done out of desperation. [Enterprises] are making big changes in how they manage these big deals. Part of the problem may be the vendor, but it's also how you manage the vendor."