Rumor has it that we're headed for a rec***ion. I heard it on the network news, so I know it's true.
(For a more reassuring spin on the topic...what some might call reality...read
Capital Markets Turmoil from AllianceBernstein. Thanks to Alison Whitmire, Group Chair extraordinaire with Vistage in Seattle, for sharing this analysis!)
Whether we'll hit overall negative growth or not remains to be seen, but businesses are definitely reacting as if we might. I am hearing rumblings of "hunkering down" across my network of clients, affiliates, friends and a few ne'er-do-wells.
(I've even made the decision to hunker down myself, so if we have a business lunch scheduled, I'll need you to pay.)
At the risk of pushing us into a full-blown, self-fulfilling prophecy, here are my top 10 ways IT can make a bottom-line difference during these troubling times:
1) Renegotiate contracts - SaaS (software-as-a-service) is looking pretty good, don't you think...
2) Improve IT's efficiency - get IT out of their reactionary, fire-fighting mode...which reduces productivity and increases costs
3) Get runaway projects under control and completed - in addition to GrowthWave, firms like MosierMcCann (
www.mosiermccann.com) and PROsys (for life sciences firms -
www.prosys-llc.com) know how to get projects done
4) Get aligned - make sure everyone in IT is working on the highest-value, highest-return tasks and initiatives for the business
5) If you haven't implemented or fully leveraged VoIP (voice-over-IP) yet, it's time
6) Significantly reduce your telecom expenses- have a firm like Bandwidth Advisors (
www.bandwidthadvisors.com) or Telesys Northwest (
www.telesysnw.com) audit your telecom contracts and expenditures...you might be surprised at what they find
7) For small and medium-sized companies, look at outsourcing IT "commodities" such as server monitoring, help desk services and data backup/disaster recovery; check out
www.isoutsource.com and leverage their expertise and economies of scale
8) Look at the total benefits of outsourcing your server hosting; SAVVIS has a good TCO analysis tool and is a great place to start (
www.savvis.com)
9) Take an honest, objective look at your IT staff and organizational structure; to paraphrase Jim Collins from Good to Great, get the wrong people off the bus, and get the right people on the bus and in the right seats...then you'll get the right results
10) Finally, implement a continuous cost improvement process within IT; do this and you'll be prepared for the next rec***ion, whenever NBC declares it...
