by Craig Symons

In the current economic climate it’s not a surprise that many of the conversations I have with clients tend to revolve around IT budgets, the cost of IT, and what if anything can be done about it. 

Unfortunately, for many IT organizations, cost is the only metric they have that their customers understand.  And so it is the one that gets most of the attention. These conversations with clients usually take one of two directions.  The first one focuses on how IT can cut costs quickly and effectively without “throwing the baby out with the bath water” so to speak.  This is the realist’s approach.  The second one is a plea for help in justifying the existing or planned budget to business executives.  This is the idealist’s approach.  More often than not the end result is the same - IT budgets are cut without regard to impact on the business and everyone suffers.