IT cost cutting should be happening right now
1 min read
IT departments should not be waiting for an official declaration of recession – they should be looking at IT cost-cutting efforts now, according to analyst Gartner.
Gartner is advising US businesses to prepare for cutting their IT costs – and most observers believe that it won’t be long before the same advice comes to British companies.
“Organisations based in other countries where GDP [gross domestic product] growth is projected to grow less than 2% in 2008 are advised to prepare for IT cost cutting now,” says Ken McGee, vice-president and Gartner Fellow.
Gartner believes that as concerns increase for the near-term health of some of the world’s largest economies, those responsible for IT budgets can expect to receive mandates from senior executives to cut IT costs as part of an enterprise-wide cost-cutting programme.
McGee offers a six-step plan.
Step 1: Don’t wait for the cost-cutting mandate from management.
Step 2: Choose the best and brightest it people for the team.
Step 3: Don’t allow finger-pointing or second guessing.
Step 4: Enlist an internal auditor as scorekeeper
Step 5: Report results on a weekly basis
Step 6: Identify a liaison from the legal department.
