CA Interactive IT Executive Forum will dissect the state of affairs for the IT industry recovery in 2010.
The challenges will continue for IT executives working to help their companies recover from the economic recession of 2009, according to industry watchers.
While 2010 has been dubbed a rebuilding year in the press, for many working in technology, the resources to revive and grow revenue are scarce and the demands from the business continue to require IT executives to do more with less and consider updated IT service delivery and staffing models. One great example of this in high-tech news recently is HP’s plans to lay off 9,000 workers, but rehire some 6,000 in other positions, potentially holding new skills to staff next-generation data centers.
IT leaders in the majority of companies are considering how to keep the talent needed to increase IT services and workforce productivity without increasing costs. And this week industry watchers intend to discuss the current state of IT affairs at the CA Interactive IT Executive Forum, an event spanning 25 cities and featuring four IT industry experts scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, June 8.
Michael Friedenberg, president and CEO of IDG Enterprise (and my former employer while at Network World) will moderate the panel of experts at the event and says he finds great value in providing his services.
“It’s important to participate in anything that can help educate the senior IT audience on issues pertaining to their jobs and overall business. It’s essential to stay informed and the ability to get insight from a wide and diverse audience is quite impactful,” Friedenberg says. “Getting a blend of analyst, vendor and end user-perspectives is great for the audience at this event.”
Considering his planned participation in the upcoming event, I questioned Friedenberg on his perspective of the IT industry 2010 and how as a company providing high-tech content for IT leaders can play a role in a recovery year.
We are halfway through 2010. What do you hear from technology companies (or the IT executive audience you are serving) in terms of their efforts and success around rebuilding and recovering?
It’s choppy times still. Most people are cautiously optimistic. The IT sector is recovering faster than other sectors in the world. Right now what I am seeing, primarily based on individual discussion, is that companies are not necessarily hiring back staff. Many are relying more on IT to take up that element using automation technology, doing more with less. Many companies are planning to or already leveraging IT and its resources to increase service delivery, customer satisfaction and loyalty.
What technology investments are being made by CIOs and IT executives in 2010?
Certainly, virtualization at every level is of great interest, from servers to desktops and applications. Security continues to be top of mind as well. And this year mobile technology is getting attention. Organizations are trying to mobilize their workforce in greater ways. And cloud computing is seeing more interest, but not so much public clouds. IT leaders are interested in private clouds. Data center consolidation is still a priority because CIOs are considering anything they can to consolidate and get greater efficiencies. And lastly, I think analytics are a priority this year. These technologies are being driven by the business priorities. How do you innovate? How do you save costs? How do you get greater workforce productivity and how do you break out ahead of the competition?
From your experience talking with IT leaders, what are some of the business priorities driving tech investments?
We are living in a global world right now and many companies are seeking the ability to work 24-7 and have productivity occur based on where the sun sets and the sun rises. It is important to keep business running at optimized levels and couple that with revenue growth. Many companies are trying to sell deeper in existing customer base but also drive net new business, expanding the markets they are serving. I know companies like McDonald’s and Boeing are working to establish new markets and create new footholds. The use of technology can help companies in many markets get closer to their customers.
Are IT leaders considering various staffing models or making outsourcing a priority to cut costs?
Companies are thinking globally, and if they are a global company it wouldn’t matter where they are hiring. Companies are staffing to get the right talent at the right investment level where they need it most. If companies are considering outsourcing or offshoring, part of the motivation is cost, but a lot of it is about having the right high-tech talent to be able to move at the speed at which companies are demanding of their IT organizations.
The 2009 recession isn’t the first time the high-tech industry took an economic hit. What is different this time and what lessons did the IT industry learn?
When the Internet bubble burst, the following recession was focus on one sector, which was IT primarily. IT leaders and CIOs realized that the alignment between business and IT wasn’t as tight as it needed to be. In the case of the great recession of 2009 – which is still ongoing for some – there was not one company or one country not impacted. The pressures are far greater in this recession than in the previous recession. IT organizations are being asked to improve workforce productivity, lower costs and provide just-as-good – if not better – performance. It seems now that every element of the overall IT architecture could be re-examined and updated. That’s part of the reason why technologies from mobility to software-as-a-service to desktop virtualization are popular this year.
As a publisher serving the IT industry specifically, how is your organization helping to guide its audience and customers during this time of recovery and rebuilding?
The most important thing for us is to always be relevant to our readers and our advertisers. We provide the most relevant content to the most influential and powerful IT buying audience, making it easier for them to execute during times of adversity. We get information to and give a voice to those who need to do their jobs more productively. Our job isn’t different during difficult times, but we are making sure we are providing the provocative and relevant content to our readers to enable them to do their jobs better.
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