Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Data Management
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Computerworld 2007Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.

Think Tank: How do you change gears from frugality to innovation?

Brain Food for IT Executives
 

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

May 02, 2005 (Computerworld) --


Changing Gears From Frugality to Innovation


A generation of IT leaders has focused on reducing costs, outsourcing and calculating investment metrics. With an uptick in IT budgets, they're supposed to be able to move from the cost-cutting mind-set to more innovative and strategic IT work, but Marc Cecere, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., says it's not so easy to change gears.


According to Mark Livingston, a vice president at consulting firm A.T. Kearney Inc. in Chicago, "The reality is most IT departments can't effectively explore innovative uses of technology because they are stuck in the daily operational grind."


An A.T. Kearney study found that only 20% of companies' IT spending is allocated for IT innovation—a 30% decrease from 2002. A similar study by Forrester puts the innovation number at 33%, which still means that 67% of the IT budget is tied to ongoing operations and maintenance. Moreover, regulatory compliance and security spending are cutting into the money available for innovation. A.T. Kearney is urging IT leaders to get even stingier with operational IT to free up funds for strategic initiatives.


Helen Pukszta, a senior consultant at Cutter Consortium in Arlington, Mass., has another idea. She says IT departments need a "manager of IT business innovation," who would research, analyze and propose new IT applications that would give the company a competitive advantage. That way, the IT steering committee looks at a broader set of IT investment choices than what's already in the project portfolio.


Best Bits


The most useful parts of recent business and IT management books


A Whole New Mind: Moving From the Information Age to the Conceptual AgeTHE BOOK: A Whole New Mind: Moving From the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, by Daniel H. Pink (Riverhead Books, 2005).


Pink, a bestselling author who has become the darling of the blogosphere, argues in this book that the era of "left brain" dominance, with its emphasis on logical, linear, computerlike thinking, is on the way out and that we're entering the Conceptual Age, when "right brain" qualities such as inventiveness and design will predominate. What does that mean for IT people? Programmers are out (as in outsourced); innovators and artists are in. Routine work is either done through automation or in Asia.


"The outsourcing of routine software work is putting a new premium on software engineers with high-concept abilities," Pink writes. "After all, before the Indian programmers have something to fabricate, maintain, test or upgrade, that something first must be imagined or invented."


And these creations must then be explained and tailored to customers and users, Pink adds, which requires "aptitudes that can't be reduced to a set of rules on a spec sheet—ingenuity, personal rapport and gut instinct."


Research Roundup


  • Retail Web site designers should worry less about alienating dial-up users and use more of the rich media features that appeal to broadband users, says a study by Nielsen/NetRatings, a service of NetRatings Inc. in New York. Why? The study says broadband users make 69% of online retail purchases, and they spend more money than dial-up users do.


  • About 60% of consumers are concerned about identity theft, and 6% have switched banks because of the problem, according to a January survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers by IDC's Financial Insights unit.


  • The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York asked 100 corporate IT managers in March for their views of Sun Microsystems Inc. One-third of the respondents said "it's already too late" for the vendor, while 27% said Sun is "standing still." On the positive side, 13% said Sun is "moving in the right direction," and 3% said, "Sun is back."
















Business Priorities

Are you listening to what business executives want out of IT? Here are their most urgent requests:


1. Have applications better fit our business processes.


2. Improve access to relevant information.


3. Provide better systems for communication and collaboration.


Base: 200 U.S. business executives; multiple responses allowed

Source: Frank Gens, IDC, Framingham, Mass., March 2005




The IT Economy


  • Security software remains the highest spending priority among IT managers, according to a survey of 100 IT managers by Goldman Sachs. Business intelligence software is also high on IT shopping lists, with 59% of the respondents saying they plan to purchase BI software in the next 12 months.


  • President Bush proposed a 7.1% increase in the fiscal 2006 federal IT budget. But vendors hoping to get rich quick in the government market need to realize that federal IT spending is very uneven, says Gene Leganza, an analyst at Forrester Research. The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are in for big IT budget increases, but many other agencies have tight discretionary budgets. Those budgets are getting even tighter, Leganza says.
















Buying Intentions

IDC economic research continues to offer a positive, but not spectacular, picture of growth in IT spending in the U.S. over the next 12 months.


"While buyer optimism has dropped a hair, the macroeconomic picture has picked up, mostly as a result of improving revenue forecasts for vendors," IDC says.

Index of Business IT Demand, 2004-2005The buyer intent index is based on monthly surveys of 400 to 500 U.S. CIOs and business executives, who are asked about their IT spending expectations for the next 12 months. Results are weighted to be representative of the U.S. market. An index of 1,000 means zero growth. Caveat: Buying intentions don't always lead to real spending.


Source: IDC's FutureScan, Framingham, Mass., April 2005





Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story
"When white pages searches come up empty, it's often easier to let your fingers do the walking. It shouldn't be..." Read more...
"Enterprise search continues to lag behind commerical search because companies lack a "findability" strategy, says one researcher...." Read more...
Read more Business Intelligence posts or See all Blogs
DNS hole prompts synchronized patching effort by IT vendors
Microsoft plugs nine holes in Windows, DNS, SQL
Symantec warns of new Word attack
More top stories...
Microsoft sets XP SP3 automatic download for Thursday
Don't give Google a free pass on data collection, privacy advocates say after YouTube ruling
XP SP3 to reach most users 'shortly,' says Microsoft
All it takes is a couple hours and about $125 to breathe new life into an old laptop. Here's how.
Is Microsoft's Golden Age over? What are Gates' most memorable quotes? Find out in Computerworld's complete coverage of the end of the Bill Gates era at Microsoft.
There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear. Also don't miss the flipside, Five things you should always tell your boss.
With its latest version, Mozilla's browser continues to raise the bar for what Web browsers should be.
Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.
Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?
All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Business Continuity Zone
Data Center Management Zone
Enterprise-Class Security Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Grid Computing on Windows Zone
Security Management Zone
ITIL Best Practices Zone
The SAS Zone
Storage Virtualization Zone
Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone

Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Speeding the time to intelligence
Get this Computerworld report free for a limited time, compliments of SAS.
Time To Intelligence -- a concept defining how long it takes to get accurate and timely information into the hands of workers who need it most. Do it slower than your competitors and your company is toast. Do it faster, you scorch them. Business Intelligence is the key to optimizing Time To Intelligence, and success there is a combination of people, policies, and technology.
Download this executive briefing download
Web Security SaaS: The Next Generation of Web Security
Download this whitepaper, free for a limited time, compliments of Webroot Software.
(Source: Webroot Software) The Web is the new threat vector of choice for hackers and cybercriminals to distribute malware and perpetrate identity theft, financial fraud, and corporate espionage. This paper outlines the challenges facing many SMBs and provides solutions for overall security effectiveness and reducing the burden on IT departments.
Download this white paper go
Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You?
Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You?
Download this webcast, free, compliments of Sterling Commerce
Go to the webcast 
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
Virtualization Analysis for VMware
A Guide to Understanding Messaging Archiving
Archiving Compliance with Sunbelt Exchange Archiver
View more whitepapers 
SAS Information Management Kit

SAS is the leader in business intelligence and analytical software and services. Only SAS offers leading data integration, storage, analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. SAS gives 97 of the top 100 companies in the 2007 Fortune 500 THE POWER TO KNOW®.

Webcast: The Information Management Roadmap
Imagine high-quality data, cleansed, analyzed and delivered throughout your organization. Join Computerworld, IT visionary Thornton May and a panel of experts to learn how SAS® can help you make it happen.

View this webcast 
Research Report: Information Management Initiatives at Midsize and Large Organizations
See the top-line results of this Computerworld sponsored survey to see how IT and business leaders are handling information management implementation.

Download this report 
White Paper: Information Management: Better Information for Winning Decisions.
This white paper explains how the SAS Information Evolution Model aids companies in assessing how they use this information to make strategic decisions and drive business.

Download this white paper