Gartner has issued a warning to enterprise CIOs and their service providers: Budget cuts are coming and the CIO better be ready. For too many CIOs, this is a too-soon reminder of the fiscal issues which CIOs faced during the last economic downturn. It's also an uncomfortable reminder of how those issues affected relationships, reputations and credibility.

And now, after several years of solid budgets and (hopefully) careful investments in projects and people, CIOs may be facing another CIO-CEO credibility gap. When the profitability crunch comes, plans and people come under fire, sides are taken, and credibility suffers.

IT: A Target in Good and Bad Times

Even now, most CIOs get weekly or even daily reminders that IT is—and probably always will be—a primary target when things don't go well. The flip side, unfortunately, is almost as bad: IT is rarely given credit when things do go well. From businesses' point of view, in an ideal world, the IT function should be transparent and seamless.

Read the full story: How to Make Sure the Downturn Doesn't Widen the CEO/CIO Credibility Gap

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