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As I think about the year ahead, I can't help but think back to recent events in 2008. Certainly, no one could have predicted that a credit crisis of this magnitude would grip Wall Street, slowing economic growth. No one is immune to these developments--from large telecommunication firms to regional universities to fledgling start-ups--they're all feeling some strain. That said, the current global economic climate also creates huge opportunity for information technology departments to strive for innovative ways to make good use of IT spending and turn to technology investments for competitive differentiation.
Although I'm not a fortune teller, I can definitively say that 2009 will present a dramatically different landscape for the IT industry. Recession or not, we will continue to see more pressures on IT budgets. While senior management will not question the necessity of a strong technology backbone, it will look more closely at expenses and timing of IT improvements in turbulent economic conditions.
While this is the reality we face, it's not as bleak as it sounds. Just as every crisis presents an opportunity, this economic climate gives chief information officers (CIOs) the chance to be more intelligent and more efficient in managing IT. I encourage you to consider how you can stretch the IT budget you have and how you can best invest your money. Making smart IT decisions now can better position your organization to endure this economic downturn. Here are several big and small steps you can take that can help you extend your IT infrastructure, while strengthening your company's balance sheet for the future.
Doing More With Less. Tighter budgets will require CIOs to think in terms of efficiency. Thankfully, tools are available today to drive down cost and drive up utilization. Virtualization, for example, is one way to take full advantage of your technology investment, which has quickly become an important technology across all aspects of the IT environment and can be used in server, storage, networking and client environments. Why the appeal? It deploys new services faster, maximizes the utilization of system resources, and has the ability to more easily monitor and manage virtualized environments.
At the server level, it will enable your server to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications, greatly improving the efficiency of your data centers. One Sun Microsystems
Thinking Ecologically, Thinking Economically. Since the power consumption of data centers doubled between 2000 and 2005, it's no surprise that 25% of an IT budget is consumed by energy costs alone. Some analysts say infrastructure power usage will soon cost more than the hardware itself.
So it's clear: What's good for the environment is imperative for business. When thinking green, think about the dollars you can save with more ecologically friendly technologies. Going green is the responsible choice both environmentally and fiscally. By using best practices in data center design and hardware consolidation, Sun was able to cut our utility bill by over 60% in our Santa Clara, Calif., data center facility. Today's eco-friendly products not only cost less upfront but also make the total cost of operation significantly less.
And that's the mindset CIOs should use when approaching management about moving to more green products. In 2009, hard numbers will matter more than a green philosophy, and we suggest that CIOs arm themselves with as much compelling data as possible.
Open Source Opens Doors. When the tech bubble burst seven years ago, we saw the first wave of popularity for open source. In 2009, the time has come again. Given that they are cheaper to acquire and implement than licensed products, open source products, I believe, will see an increase in usage. I wouldn't be surprised to see a significant uptick in the number of companies that use OpenSolaris, MySQL, ZFS and OpenStorage technologies.
Forrester Research
So as you can see, a lagging economy does not necessarily translate into a less active IT organization. Instead, it requires CIOs to be more hands-on and forward-thinking in operating more effective, more efficient organizations. While your decisions today will likely be driven by budgetary realities, they can and must be made with an eye toward the future. It isn't just about weathering the storm, it's about using this time to focus your organization and turn IT into a competitive advantage today and when the skies clear.
-----------------------------BY Bob Worrall
Source：Forbes
Bob Worrall is chief information officer at Sun Microsystems.
2009 Forbes.com LLC™ All Rights Reserved.
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