CIOs need a plan to tackle second downturn, urges Gartner
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CIOs should confront the current uncertainty, with clear and decisive action, by augmenting current near-term plans and preparing for a second recession, warns Gartner.
If another recession unfolds in the next 12 to 18 months, CIOs won't be forgiven for being unprepared a second time around, says the analyst.
"Just the potential for a second business downturn should be sufficient to compel CIOs to plan for another business downturn," advises Ken McGee, vice president and Gartner fellow. "However, most CIOs will not have a response strategy prepared if a second business downturn occurs."
For McGee, it's all about planning, and doing so right now.
"As questions, or even doubts, grow about the ability for economies to recover, CIOs in 2010 have one advantage over their predecessors. For the first time in the history of the IT industry, more than 90% of CIOs today possess extremely recent and practical experience [of] dealing with a recession," he enthuses.
"In light of this fact, we strongly urge these recession-hardened CIOs to leverage their recently acquired and economic battle-scarred experiences by proactively preparing their entire organisations should another economic downturn occur within the next 12 to 18 months," he adds.
Gartner recommends that CIOs: enlist board level action immediately; refocus on current year savings should the worst happen; repeat the exercise for FY 2011, determining which are relatively expendable, so may be postponed; and use zero-based for foreseeable projects for that timeframe.
