Resetting Priorities For New Economic RealitiesResetting Priorities For New Economic Realities

The stock market reaches a 12-year low... GM threatened with bankruptcy... this week's news presents fresh evidence of the fragile state of the US and global economies. But it has been abundantly clear since late last year that companies need to hit the reset button when it comes to setting enterprise information management and applications priorities. In the face of new economic realities, what would you still cite as top priority?

In an Intelligent Enterprise/information Analytics survey conducted in January, we surveyed more than 300 information technology and business professionals about their attitudes and imperatives in five key areas of enterprise technology: information management, business intelligence, enterprise applications, performance management, and process management. In this post-economic-meltdown survey, readers shared their opinions on the squeakiest wheels requiring continued investment over the coming 12 to 24 months.Encouragingly, one key finding of this "Enterprise Information and Applications Priorities Survey" is that respondents rank "better guidance from business leaders" first, and "additional financial support or additional staff" dead last among 10 possible developments that would improve their productivity. That's good news in that the "IT investment" these respondents are asking for is more about time, organization, and leadership commitments than it is about hard-cash outlays for more technology.

I've heard this "let's-make-the-most-of-what-we've-got" sentiment in recent days from Gartner analyst Donald Feinberg and HP BI executive Kristina Robinson, both of whom cited research and anecdotal evidence that points to a gap between existing technology investments and expected benefits.

"There are lots of tools and technologies out there, but a fundamental divide still exists in people being able to quickly react and apply that technology to critical decisions," says Robinson, vice president and general manager of HP Business Intelligence Solutions. "I think there's now a real opportunity to take a very pragmatic approach and look at why those disconnects are still out there and what we can do to not only drive better ROI from a technology perspective, but also to better address the underserved needs of the business."

How do we go about closing this gap? It speaks volumes that respondents placed "better guidance from leaders on the most important processes, measures, and metrics," "a clearer sense of corporate strategy from top executives," and "more support from top executives to implement new policies or procedures companywide" among the top potential changes that would improve productivity. That's a challenge to business leaders to support technology-driven change, but I would also hit the ball back into IT's court and challenge CIOs and tech pros to engage line-of-business leaders. Particularly in these times, it's incumbent on everyone to understand the business and to proactively seek direction from business leaders, rather than waiting for orders from above.

To find out more about post-meltdown attitudes and priorities within the enterprise, download our 32-page report. This report goes into the deepest detail on Information Management and Business Intelligence, but there's plenty of fresh insight on priorities in Performance Management, Enterprise Applications and Process Management as well. TechWeb normally charges $499 for these reports, but IBM has stepped up to sponsor this purely independent research, so it's free to registered visitors of the TechWeb Network.

I think this document offers a good indication of where enterprises area headed next, but by all means share your own thoughts on the way forward in these uncertain times.The stock market reaches a 12-year low... GM threatened with bankruptcy... this week's news presents fresh evidence of the fragile state of the US and global economy. But it has been abundantly clear since late last year that companies need to hit the reset button when it comes to setting enterprise information management and applications priorities.