Naked CIO: The difference between vision and panic

Is now the right time to be cutting costs and cancelling projects? The Naked CIO has other ideas.

With the recession in full swing, is it the time to cut back on projects and costs, or is this the time to take risks to become more competitive?

The current trend seems to be reverting to 'keeping the lights on', and cutting projects and staff seems to be the overwhelming popular option in order to save a few pounds here and there - although it is not the volume of projects but rather the quality of the initiative that should be evaluated.

But is this the right approach and - for that matter - the cost effective one?

While all initiatives should require greater scrutiny in today's environment, that doesn't mean that everything should go on hold. When the market contracts, innovation almost always proves successful in not only helping you persevere through the hard times but also helping companies to quickly turn around when times get better.

It is the difference between proaction and reaction. It is the difference between vision and panic.

The risk at times like these is organisations lose their strategic bearing and focus only on costs and survival. The danger is that without a progressive strategy, technology can quickly become costly and an inhibitor to profitability - and this compounds the economic problem because organisations are wasting precious human capital on manual, outdated and inefficient processes.

Someone told me the other day that the best time to start a business is in a recession. I looked at them as if they were crazy but then after discussion and thought it seemed rather compelling.

Most competitors are very insular during hard economic times and their unwillingness to innovate or speculate impacts their ability to grow. Equally customers are more likely to be less loyal to existing suppliers and services in an economic downturn, because they are always looking for the best deal. Fresh ideas and fresh methods can be compelling in these times.

And within organisations the opposite holds true. Internally, they are even more loyal to what they have always done and less likely to change their ways and habits because of their fear of the economic conditions and taking unacceptable risks.

With downturns in the economy the world over - including India and China - there is significant opportunities for UK companies and UK IT departments to change the tide of recent trends, and provide value-driven, innovative products and services - as well as departments that can and should dictate the future of IT within the country.

This is the time to speculate and the time to change. It is the time that can define an organisation as the leader within its field and provides an opportunity that could reset the disturbing and very threatening trends of the last few years.

There is an old saying we should all embrace - when the going gets tough the tough get going.

Let's change the face of IT and be the strategic leaders of tomorrow's new world now, when the time might just be right.