With the world stumbling through an economic downturn, IT managers are under pressure to shave costs from the technology operations that keep organisations running smoothly. Cutbacks abound, staff cuts look likely and new projects are being back-burnered. These are the days in which IT managers really earn their bread and butter. Against this backdrop of turbulence, we'll examine what IT executives can do to stretch budgets to maintain a useful and reliable network of IT services, and examine where new technologies, free software and licence renegotiation can make budgets work harder. Because all companies are different, the intention is not to recommend specific changes, but to raise the questions and possibilities that will provoke improvements. Boardrooms will increasingly question the value of every IT project and managers will need to prioritise and scrap projects for the good of the company in order to keep essential operations running smoothly. While recession means tough choices for the here and now, managers also need to plan for the recovery, when cash starts flowing through the system once more and companies look to grow and expand as the depression lifts.
We've spoken to practitioners, vendors, analysts and industry regulators to find out how to escape the fiscal doldrums.