Cost-cutting and down-time stresses IT bosses

Cost-cutting and taking care of the IT "plumbing" are the top issues stressing out IT managers, according to new research.

The sixth annual Pressure Point Index (PPI) survey of 200 UK IT managers by HP found that system stability and up-time were the most critical infrastructure issues for a quarter of respondents, while a fifth cited cutting costs as their top priority.

IT budgets remain largely flat or slightly down for the majority of respondents but 36 per cent predict budget increases this year - up from 33 per cent in 2004 and just a quarter in 2003.

The breakdown also shows more optimism for IT investment in the public sector where 39 per cent of respondents predict higher spending this year, compared to just 25 per cent of their IT manager counterparts in the private sector.

Gerry Sheridan, VP of HP services in the UK and Ireland, admitted things are still "tight" for many IT managers and CIOs - who face pressure to prove their department is more than just a cost centre and back-office function.

He told silicon.com: "IT infrastructure has become a mixed environment because of merger and acquisition activity and business leaders are looking to rationalise that."

Sheridan said almost half of the IT managers surveyed are planning to increase infrastructure investment in hardware and networks in the next year to address issues such as security, compliance and identity management.

The PPI survey was previously run by Synstar, which was acquired by HP in 2004. It was carried out for HP by Benchmark Research.