Pink Elephant Blog
Got The Recession Jitters? Don’t Take Your Eye Off The Ball!
Following on from my previous post about about the findings in the Computer Economics report, here at Pink - not surprisingly - we're hearing of some IT managers who have been directed to cut spending - but it doesn't appear to be as significant as you might think. For example, for our Annual Conference next month we currently have just over 95% of the registrations we had on the same date last year. Considering all the doom and gloom news over the past few months, if you'd asked me three months ago if we'd be happy to be this close to last year's levels I would have said "sure"! In the other areas of our business we're still seeing significant commitments by customers for education programs, as well as consulting and online projects. Of course, we certainly feel for those working in sectors that are hard-hit, and one of the tactics they must apply is to carefully scrutinize the value - and timing - of every dollar they're about to spend. That goes for IT services, training courses and conference attendance as well as everything else. But, we've also heard from some managers in customer organizations that while they have not been directed to cut back, they have used their own discretion to postpone spending until "better times". This seems to speak to the lack of confidence I was hearing about on a talk radio show yesterday. When people hold back because of all the doom and gloom news around them, it means they actually start to contribute to the problem. The economy starts to tighten up even more and the recession deepens; meanwhile, money sits in the bank. Money which could be put to good use. In IT, there's an extra dimension. Just think back less than a year - many organizations were developing ambitious plans to improve IT. The purpose being to help - even lead - the business to meet worthwhile objectives. Improvements cost money. By holding back on spending (whether it's new infrastructure, new tools, increased skills or improved processes and practices), that puts business objectives in jeopardy. Six months ago you likely had the confidence to tackle that big project - so if it was a good idea then, it should still be a good idea now. Don't let "Recession Jitters" get in your way! Is your organization being truly affected by the recession, or are you contributing to it?
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