IT investment is key to a manufacturing recovery

Its Enterprise Intelligence survey also identifies challenges facing CIOs, particularly in terms of waking up to the potential of cloud services. More than half (53%) apparently fail to see how cloud computing can save them money – even though the cloud delivery model is designed to reduce or eradicate capital expenditure. That said, the survey, conducted across 13 countries, offers further evidence that IT budget cuts during the recession have been holding back business. It reveals that nearly two thirds of CIOs (61%) and senior executives (63%) say ageing IT is a barrier to their ability to 'think globally'. A similar number (57% of CIOs and 60% of senior executives) blame inadequate software solutions. Additionally, a quarter of senior executives indicate that lack of investment in IT has harmed innovation, while a similar number (23%) complain that it has prevented them from winning business. More than a quarter (27%) say their inability to find the right information when they needed it has also cost them business during the recession. Hanif Lalani, CEO of BT Global Services, says: "This research … should act as a call to action on key issues such as the role IT plays in driving global business success. The research also highlights that, in the current climate, CIOs face key decisions about how they approach the upturn." BT commissioned Datamonitor to undertake the study of more than 2,400 IT users and 270 CIOs and senior executives globally for its study.