Recession-proof your IT, CIOs warned

Businesses need to take action to cut tech costs before a recession takes hold in the US and other major economies.

IT bosses are being urged by analyst Gartner to take pre-emptive cost-cutting measures well before any actual recession begins to bite.

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With concerns increasing about the short tem future health of some of the world's leading economies, Gartner predicts people in charge of IT budgets will receive mandates from the board to cut costs across the business.

The warning also advises organisations in countries outside the US with economic growth forecast to be less than two per cent in 2008 to act now.

In November last year, Gartner said CIOs should prepare two IT budgets for 2008 due to the economic uncertainty. The first budget would assume a continuation of the status quo, while a second would act as a back-up in case of a business slowdown.

Ken McGee, VP and Gartner fellow, said economic factors on which this original research was based have worsened to the extent that tech departments should start cutting costs now.

Gartner has come up with a six-point plan to help companies cut budgets successfully, including devoting the best workers to cost cutting projects and basing bonuses on how successful they are in achieving this.