...has become synonymous with negativity and crisis. From recruitment freezes to lay-offs, most mid-market business employees may be finding it difficult to see a light at the end of the office.
But just when all hope was about to be lost, ITChannelPlanet.com released the aptly titled article, “Study: Mid-market Not Drastically Cutting IT Budgets”and stated that not every office budget is suffering, and one aspect is even seeing growth…
“A new study commissioned by IBM Corp. of nearly 2,000 mid-market companies worldwide revealed that despite the economic slowdown, most midsized businesses have not dramatically curtailed IT spending but instead are redirecting available resources to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and prop up relationships with customers.”
Either these IT directors are attempting to single-handedly stimulate the economy, or there's a different reason for this growth in software spending. The author continues to explain that there is some money... somewhere... to be spent. Mid-market companies are taking their budgets, investing in technology, and in turn, are seeing a nice ROI.
“The study’s participants identified their top business priorities as improving efficiency and reducing costs, increasing employee productivity, upgrading customer service and pursuing new customers. More than 80 percent of midsized companies in the study said that improving efficiency, reducing costs and boosting productivity were highest on their list of business concerns.”
Funny, I thought better food in the cafeteria would be in there somewhere? Probably next on the list. In any event, as technology continues its relentless march towards increased automation and power, companies are realizing that in order to stay ahead of the competition, they must continue to invest in IT. To the short-sighted, plunking down dollars on software in the midst of a recession may seem a foolish thing to do, especially if a company is doing fine with the IT that it currently has. But what company wants to do just fine? Don't forget, if you're happy to continue doing fine, your competition is saving many more thousands of dollars by increasing efficiency, automating routine tasks, and eliminating needless processes and workflows.
