IT can transform the business, but cutbacks are decreasing spending
Never before has IT had the ability to transform the way an organization does business as it does today. Unfortunately, current economic conditions have put the brakes on many initiatives, and cut backs have forced decreased spending across the board. Decision makers are being forced to not only cut capital investments and put projects on hold, they are also being asked to trim their operational budgets (which account for 65% of total IT spend on average). One of the steps they are taking to reduce operational costs is to cut the size of the IT department.
Sixty-seven percent of organizations are decreasing their IT departments by an average of 17%. Many IT practitioners fear these reductions will have a negative affect on the department’s ability to meet service delivery goals, one of the key metrics used to determine IT organizational success. Organizations that already struggle to meet IT service delivery goals find it very detrimental to reduce existing staff. This is especially true for some departments that struggle with staffing in areas such as security, VOIP, and application development.
