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F E A T U R E

Survey Says...

October 10, 2002
By David Joachim and James Hutchinson

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IT is in a state of flux. Technology budgets are stalled--IT spending as a percentage of gross revenue averaged 3.2 percent in July, compared with a peak of 7.5 percent in 2000, according to a Meta Group study. (On the bright side, we're up from a low of 2.1 percent in February

2001.) Why the tightened belts? Some companies feel burned by hefty boom-time tech investments they believe promised a lot but delivered little. The technologies in place are working, and many execs are satisfied with the status quo or are choosing their projects with an eye on strategic, business-enabling investments.

These ongoing dynamics are leading to new questions for IT pros: When the economy rebounds, will technology still be a top business priority? How can I get a better handle on business goals? And once I get a handle, how can I get IT front and center in planning?

You've told us it pays to check out what your peers are doing, so we polled you on your feelings about technology trends, your jobs and your organizations. We discovered that you're fed up with corporate politics and bureaucracy (see "Winds of Change"). We also learned that despite the lingering economic malaise, many IT shops are forging ahead with infrastructure and enterprise-application projects (see "Down to Brass Tacks"), investing in their infrastructures when clear business value can be shown.

Mike Hahm, systems analyst and engineer for the Montana Department of Administration, sees new prospects on the horizon even as tech loses some of its mystique. "As the IT infrastructure becomes commoditized, it becomes a known factor," Hahm says. "So people get more comfortable with it and figure out more ways to use it. And as new application layers are placed on top, that opens up new opportunity."

Others believe their skills will remain in demand for more fundamental reasons. "It's like a car--you'll always need someone to fix something," says Vanessa Hill, network administrator for Progressive Life Center, a Washington-based nonprofit children's services organization.


		Survey Says... Winds of Change Down to Brass Tacks Results of our Poll

We think Paul Davis, IT manager at Rinehart Oil, in Ukiah, Calif., sums it up when he says: "Fads come and go, but business computing isn't a fad. It's the standard now." We agree, and we're taking from this survey, besides valuable feedback on where to focus our testing in 2003, the reality that business and technology are more tightly interwoven than ever. You need to have strong business practices enabled by solid technology methodologies to be successful; both are requirements.

David Joachim is Network Computing's editor/business technology. James Hutchinson is Network Computing's director/editorial content. Write to them at djoachim@nwc.com or jhutchinson@nwc.com.