IT "safe" from economic fallout

Gartner claims IT will be shielded from budget cuts

IT looks set to avoid the worst of the fallout from the economic downturn, analyst group Gartner has predicted.

Speaking at the firm's Business Process Management Summit in London, Gartner research vice president Mark Raskino suggested that IT leaders could actually benefit from economic uncertainty.

Because IT budgets have been growing relatively slowly – just three per cent per year, on average – the impact of belt-tightening would not be severe, noted Raskino. That is in stark contrast to the dot-com era, where massive investment was followed by swingeing cuts to IT budgets.

“This time IT is nowhere near the epicentre and it gives IT an opportunity to get its ideas through the door,” he said.

Those focussed on process management – and capable of delivering business-enhancing change programmes, could actually benefit from a recession, he added.

Raskino endorsed the adoption of a process-centric approach to IT. He told delegates that IT could recast its reputation within the business through BPM. Historically, IT has been regarded as inhibiting process change, he added: “Many in the world see IT as very expensive handcuffs."