Finding 1

Finding 1
CIOs Are Under Moderate Pressure to Cut Costs (Slideshow)
But will it stay that way? When we conducted this survey, most companies were pursuing growth strategies. But If a credit crunch and worries about consumer spending lead to an economic slowdown, many companies could be forced to focus on cost cutting instead. That would create a much tougher environment for CIOs. Pressure to cut IT costs has been relatively mild, though it's higher at companies with more than $1 billion in revenues; only about a third of respondents say other executives believe the IT budget is bloated. The need to watch costs, of course, never goes away; even growth-oriented companies plan to reduce certain IT costs. But If companies once again put cost-cutting ahead of top-line growth, the pressure to reduce or curtail IT spending will ratchet up. Finding 2 reveals where cuts are being made now, and where they would be made if the economy goes south.