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'Mad Men' Has The Answers to Your IT Budget Woes

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:04:44 -0400

IT leaders like you need to know how to sell. You need to know how to persuade decision-making executives to fund your projects. Relying solely on facts and figures to make your case just doesn't cut it. To take your sales game to the next level, take some inspiration from the world of advertising. We're not suggesting you adopt the antics depicted in the popular TV series Mad Men (although a martini and a spiffy suit never hurts). Rather, we're suggesting that you study the tried-and-true methods that Madison Avenue has used for decades to move people to take action, and apply these to your own internal sales efforts. - This is the first in a series of articles that will explore techniques for how to sell your projects as we enter the final budget crunch phase of the year. Meet Christine Christine is the CIO of a $400 million manufacturing company. Like you, Christine is about to enter Q4. She is bracing for t...

Cloud Service Negotiations: Five Essential Factors

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:09:56 -0400

Cloud services offer a very credible alternative to traditional IT delivery models, and enterprise uptake is growing dramatically. However, service delivery via a shared cloud platform introduces negotiating and contracting nuances. Here are five points to consider before you start any negotiations with cloud vendors. - Cloud services offer a very credible alternative to traditional IT delivery models, and enterprise uptake is growing dramatically. Benefits can include reduced total cost, enhanced scalability, rapid solution delivery and simplified management. Conversely, entrusting critical technology components t...

5 IT Roles That Drive Cost Reduction

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:08:56 -0400

Five key roles are critical to achieving a lean IT organization, according to a new report from Forrester Research's �Redesign IT Roles To Drive IT Cost Reduction.�

These roles offer organizations a better ability to analyze possible reductions in cost of labor, services and capital expenditures, as well as improvement in business process efficiency. Heres a recap of what Marc Cecere, Forrester analyst and lead author of the report, had to say about these roles. - ...

Top 10 Hidden Costs of Outsourcing

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:39:23 -0400

Businesses often make avoidable mistakes in crafting and executing their outsourcing plans. Heres a list of typical pitfalls and how your company can avoid them. - When it comes to outsourcing, theres more to your business case than the service providers price. Some outsourcing costs are less visible or downright hidden. EquaTerra, an outsourcing consultancy, reviews the top 10 hidden costs and how to avoid them. Hidden Cost No. 1: Currency Problem: Because ...

Payroll Gains Suggest an IT Economic Rebound

Fri, 02 May 2008 11:46:26 -0400

Payrolls at IT services firms increased by 10,200 in April, the biggest increase in two years. - A sign that the sluggish IT economy might be rebounding, IT services firms in April added more jobs than in any month since May 2006, when payrolls at firms the government labels computer system design and related services rose by 11,400. Payrolls at IT services firms increased by 10,200 to 1,403,3...

How to Impress the CEO Through the Downturn

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:39:14 -0400

A five-step plan for weathering the downturn, when IT& usually becomes a& target for scalebacks. &

- 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 is...

Woes Aside, Some Businesses Expect More IT Hiring

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:48:04 -0500

Hiring levels seen mostly stagnant, but networking jobs are in high demand, according to new research.

- Despite worries of a recession, about one in five CIOs at larger firms expect to hire new workers in the second quarter, according to new research. Robert Half Technologys new hiring survey finds that while the vast majority of businesses expect IT staffing to remain stagnant next quarter, a ne...

IT Spending Continues to Stall

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:03:51 -0500

Slowing U.S.& economy& takes its toll on technology investments.&

- Global IT spending will decrease in the next 12 months as companies begin to feel the pinch of a slowing U.S. economy, according to new research from IDC. In a Feb. 11 report, the research firm found global IT spending will increase about 5 percent in 2008 and total about $1.38 trillion for the yea...

Preparing for the Economic Downturn

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:20:08 -0500

CIOs who survived the past recession brace themselves for more turbulence. - Jerry Batt twice had the misfortune to find himself in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. Batt was CIO at Sprint PCS when the 2001 dot-com crash devastated the wireless carrier world. Now, Batt is once again at economic ground zero, as CIO for the $14.3 billion-a-year builder Pulte Homes jus...

IT Spending Rising Despite Recession Fears

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:02:00 -0500

Worldwide IT spending is rising 3.3 percent as CIOs stay focused on process improvement and attracting new customers.
- Companies are increasing IT spending and expanding the CIOs' role beyond IT. According to the Gartner 2008 CIO Agenda study, the average worldwide IT budget increase after weighting is expected to go up 3.3 percent, a slight increase from 2007's 3 percent. IT spending will rise 3.3 percent in the ...

Will U.S. IT Pros Benefit from Rising Cost to Offshore?

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:41:00 -0400

Offshoring may not be dead, but as companies get smarter about sending jobs overseas, IT workers may reap the rewards. - Did the golden age of software offshoring end in 2005? Between 1995 and 2005, when the dollar was strong and the post-communist countries were felled by low wages, there was often a 5-to-1 cost advantage borne by outsourcing IT development projects. In 2007, reports of rising wages, high turnover a...

Cutting IT Labor Costs: The Pros and Cons

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:38:52 -0400

Staff expenses salaries, benefits, bonuses, training and travel can represent nearly one-third of IT budgets, and become prime targets for some CIOs to reign in costs. CIO Insight surveyed top IT executives to determine how they control costs, - Staff expenses salaries, benefits, bonuses, training and travel can represent nearly one-third of IT budgets, and become prime targets for some CIOs to reign in costs. CIO Insight surveyed top IT executives to determine how they control costs, Pro: Compels managers to more efficiently al...

Best Techniques to Manage IT Costs

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:20:42 -0400

CIO Insight surveyed 255 senior IT executives and managers about the techniques they use to manage IT costs. Here are a dozen techniques ranked in order of their potential savings. - CIO Insight surveyed 255 senior IT executives and managers about the techniques they use to manage IT costs. Here are a dozen techniques ranked in order of their potential savings. Fifty-five percent of all respondents reported large savings. Thirty-seven percent contended negotiations ...

Seeing the Real Value of IT

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:57:00 -0400

- Video Content.

CIOs Set IT Spending Priorities

Thu, 31 May 2007 11:37:00 -0400

Security, server consolidation and business intelligence are among the top projects for the next 12 months. - The vast majority of CIOs express optimism about economic growth, but that doesn't necessarily translate into more spending on technology this year. A first-quarter 2007 survey of 100 U.S. CIOs by Citigroup Investment Research reveals that 83 percent of the business technologists see the economic r...