The Contradictory IT Industry

It’s no secret that the economy is affecting the IT industry, but here’s what I find strange: No one seems to exactly agree on how the economy is affecting IT.

I recently read two articles published in the last few days. One article reports that CIO’s are trimming staff. The other reports that CIO’s are having trouble finding people to hire, and that IT workers are in demand. Both of these articles are based on survey results.

Which is it?

I’m not the only one to notice this. Here’s an interesting article in Computerworld.com which explains a few of the seeming contradictions in the IT industry today. For example: The author reports that IT budgets are getting tighter, but cost cutting is not a priority. Sound contradictory?

Here’s the reason: There’s not a lot that can be cut easily these days. Rather than sitting idle and weathering the economic storm, IT shops should be focusing on how to grow the business. They must look for ways to achieve fast returns on low investments.

It’s not as difficult as you might think. Here’s a good example of a company that used a low investment to increase profits dramatically.