Gartner analysts explained the challenge facing IT during the opening keynote address "The New IT Investments Powering Productivity and Growth" at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo. Analysts said IT leaders must be able to show the business value they bring to their organization.
"We say 'dead money' because, while it is keeping the lights on, it isn't directly contributing to your business growth or enhancing your competitive advantage," said Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and Gartner fellow. "Your placement of resources is more critical than ever to your ability to deliver the growth and competitive advantage that your CEO is expecting."
At least two-thirds of all IT spending is just to sustain the business, not to change or transform the business. The investments allocated to do new things, to change the business, are usually low, no more than 20 percent, and the investment in innovations which could transform the business is even less. The challenge for IT leaders is to get their budget from 80 percent "keeping the lights on" to 60 percent or less, so they can use that money in new ways to drive growth.
Gartner analysts identified three ways IT leaders can spend their IT dollars differently:
- Intelligent Reinvestment -- When IT leaders save real money, immediately tag it for future investment in a particular area or against a particular strategic business goal. Don't just cut costs
- Seize the Day -- In some very key business initiatives, IT can and should lead. For some of these top initiatives, IT organizations have the skills in these areas, so they should not wait for tomorrow, they should seize the day
- Make the Connection -- Make sure value is measured, discussed and managed -- with an eye on linking and integrating the technological past, present and future for your enterprise
"If you want to be world-class, you need to make space for your next great IT innovator, who is more likely female, your next B2B partner is likely to be from China, and your next knowledge work strategist who is probably under 25," said Mark Raskino vice president and Gartner fellow. "Monocultures that say 'we only respect engineers' won't attract vital aesthetic design talent into their teams. Companies who only work in strict hierarchies simply cannot understand Web 2.0 collective intelligence methods."
This new workforce will be a totally digital generation, fully immersed in digital technology. They love and expect further possibilities, yet are unconcerned with the implications of their preferences on others. Many of these traits are already being seen in employees using consumer technologies to make them more efficient.
IT organizations also need to embrace and extend consumerization. However, most IT departments are getting a bad reputation for preventing the entry of valuable consumer originating technologies. IT departments need to change this perception by being the people that spot the technologies first, smooth their entry, accelerate their spread, make them safe and secure, and exploits their benefits for the organization.
"The bottom line is that we are witnessing the start of a new phase in IT," said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president and global head of research at Gartner. "By 2009, organizations will be required to deliver scaled-down versions of content, applications and value-added services to selected customers' personal, virtual or home computing environments. By 2010, a substantial shift in platform ownership will be underway. The consumer will commence owning a larger portion of your IT infrastructure."
