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IT Spending in Recessions: 2009-2010 Forecast December, 2008 IT organizations and technology vendors alike need to keep an eye on the long-range outlook as they grapple with just how intense the current recession will be. Computer Economics IT spending surveys of nearly 20 years provide insight into how organizations changed their IT spending during the two previous recessions. Although the past is not always a precursor of the future, we find evidence that IT spending should rebound more quickly from the current recession than it did during the tech-led recession in 2001, following a pattern more akin to what occurred after the 1990-91 downturn. This special report provides the data behind our forecast and the rationale for our current outlook. (5 pp. 6 figs.) [Executive Summary] Legacy System Renewal: Adoption Trends and Economic Experiences December, 2008 The decision whether to renew or replace legacy applications is an economic one that many IT managers are wrestling with today. In this study, we first assess current adoption and investment rates for legacy system renewal projects, based on our annual survey of about 200 IT organizations. Next, to determine risks associated with legacy system modernization we look at the return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO) experiences of organizations that have undertaken such projects. Finally, we examine trends by organization size and conclude with a summation of our findings and key recommendations. (4 pp., 9 figs.) [Executive Summary] Server Acquisition Trends Show Success of Data Center Optimization November, 2008 Proliferation of low-end servers is a common problem in data centers today, resulting in low overall utilization of server hardware, higher-than-needed support costs and excess energy consumption. In response, data center managers have been using server virtualization and consolidation to restrain the growth of all classes of servers and to reduce overall spending on server hardware and software. This study examines server count trends by organization size. It also explores how the typical data center's workload is distributed among various operating systems. Finally, it looks at spending on server hardware and software over the past three years as a percentage of the IT budget. (8 pp., 8 figs) [Executive Summary] IT Staffing Ratios: Benchmarking Metrics and Analysis for 14 Key IT Functions November, 2008 This special publication bundles the entire collection of our reports on IT staffing ratios. The IT functions covered include applications development, business analysts, database administration, help desk, desktop support, ERP support, project management, IT quality assurance, server administration, IT management, web/e-commerce, network administration, IT security, and documentation/training. This special collection is a valuable source of information for IT executives interested in benchmarking their staffing levels with those of similar organizations. At $495, the price of this bundle includes a 63% discount over the cost of the 14 reports if purchased separately (normally $1,330). (141 pp., 115 figs.) [Read more about the bundle] IT Project Manager Staffing Ratios and PMO Adoption Rates November, 2008 Much of the work within IT is project-based. Therefore, the project manager position is one of the most important jobs within the IT organization. This study examine the question of how many project managers (PMs) a typical IT organization requires. We present staffing ratios by the total number of IT staff members, users, and developers to give managers three ways to benchmark their operations against organizations of similar size. The second part of this study examines Project Management Office (PMO) adoption trends and the impact on IT manager and PM staffing levels. We conclude with a discussion on how to measure the success of project managers and PMOs, as well as project management best practices. (7 pp., 9 figs.) [Executive Summary] Outlook for 2009 IT Spending and Staffing Levels November, 2008 To understand how IT decision-makers are responding to the current turmoil in worldwide financial markets, Computer Economics conducted a special survey in October 2008. The results are analyzed in this report, which breaks down changes in IT operational budgets over the past three months and analyzes IT executive expectations for actual 2008 spending versus budget. In addition, we discuss the budget-cutting actions that IT executives have taken over the past three months in response to economic conditions. We also report IT staffing level changes over the past 12 months and IT executive expections for 2009 IT spending and staffing levels by organization size. We conclude with our analysis of why the outlook is not as negative as one might expect. (10 pp., 11 figs.) [Executive Summary] How to Evaluate IT Procurement Contracts November, 2008 This report serves as a primer on IT procurement contracts. Our focus is primarily on contracts for IT services, though the principles apply to any type of IT procurement. We explain the typical elements of an IT procurement contract and the major types of contracts, including various types of fixed-price and cost-reimbursable agreements. We then provide guidelines for choosing the right type of contract based on characteristics of the procurement or project. We conclude with a checklist that can be used to review proposed contracts. (7 pp., 2 figs.) [Executive Summary] Business Intelligence Adoption Trends and Economic Experiences October, 2008 Nearly 60% of organizations are investing in BI initiatives this year. Yet, obtaining a positive return on investment is not easy. This study provides technology adoption statistics and reports on the ROI and TCO experiences of organizations that have implemented BI solutions, based on our most recent annual survey of over 200 IT organizations. The results are presented for the entire sample and by organization size and sector. We conclude with precautions that IT managers should take to control the total cost of ownership for business intelligence applications. (7 pp., 12 figs.) [Executive Summary] Pay for Performance: Popularity and Impact of Incentive Pay in the IT Workforce October, 2008 The incentive pay debate is intense and has strong advocates on both sides. In this study, we analyze the current trend within the IT industry based on a Computer Economics survey conducted during the first half of 2008. We provide data on the percentage of employees receiving incentive pay by job level, the percentage of compensation comprising incentive pay, the percentage of incentive bonuses based on individual, group, and company performance, and the impact of incentive pay on employee turnover rates. Our study concludes with recommendations for implementing effective programs and mitigating some of the unintended consequences of paying for performance. (5 pp., 6 figs.) [Executive Summary] Documentation and Training Staffing Ratios September, 2008 Documentation and training is a small but important function in the IT organization. In this study, we examine how staffing levels for this function have changed over the past decade. We also provide current metrics for this job function by organizational size, which IT managers can use to benchmark their employee headcount levels. Metrics include documentation/training specialists as a percentage of total IT staff, number of users per specialist, and number of developers per specialist. We conclude with our recommendations for optimizing staffing levels and productivity of IT documentation and IT training personnel. (4 pp., 5 figs.) [Executive Summary] Open Source Business Applications: Adoption and Participation Trends September, 2008 In this study, we examine adoption trends and the economic experiences of organizations that have deployed open source business applications. The analysis addresses current adoption levels, current investment activity, return on investment experience, and total cost of ownership experience. We also examine variations in adoption and investment levels by organization size and industry sector. Finally, we look at a related issue: the number or organizations actively contributing to open source development projects. We conclude with key considerations for IT managers who are assessing the suitability of open source business applications. (7 pp., 10 figs.) [Executive Summary] Current Trends in Telecommuting Among IT Workers September, 2008 Telecommuting is a growing practice across most industries. In this study, based on a special survey of IT managers, we first assess the extent of telecommuting within IT organizations today. We examine adoption levels by stages to gauge the future trend, the year-over-year growth, and the percentage of IT workers telecommuting at various frequencies. Next, we assess how IT managers rate the importance of telecommuting for recruitment and retention and their views of the advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting. Finally, we compare turnover rates of organizations that have strong telecommuting policies with those that do not. We conclude with recommendations for telecommuting policies, based on these findings. (7 pp., 10 figs.) [Executive Summary] Data Center Automation: Adoption Trends August, 2008 Data center automation is a high-priority investment for IT organizations today. In this study, we assess the overall adoption trend for data center automation (DCA) projects, the percentage of companies that have deployed the technology, and the current level of investment activity. The study also investigates how organizational size affects adoption trends and investment activity. A final look at how investment activity differs by industry sector completes the statistical picture. We conclude with recommendations for measuring return on investment and scoping data center automation projects, as well as considerations for selecting solutions. (4 pp., 6 figs.) [Executive Summary] Laptop Growth and Impact on Technical Support Staffing Requirements August, 2008 In many organizations, laptops are becoming a larger percentage of the PC inventory. From the perspective of IT organizations, laptops can ease the burden of relocations, changes, and upgrades. But there are also costs: Laptops cost more than comparably equipped desktops, introduce new security threats, suffer damage more frequently, and are more costly to repair than desktops. This study examines current trends in desktop and laptop PC acquisition, and how the changing mix of laptops to desktops is influencing IT staffing requirements. (5 pp., 9 figs.) [Executive Summary] Data Center Consolidation: Business Case Metrics August, 2008 The study quantifies the benefits of data center consolidation and provides recommendations to ensure the success of the effort. It tracks the three-year trend in increasing data center consolidation activity and reports current consolidation trends by organization size. The business case for consolidation is then presented in two ways: first, we analyze total data center costs per server for Windows, Unix, Linux, and mainframe data centers, showing substantially lower per-server costs as data center size increases. Second, we find a reduction in total IT spending per user for organizations with single data centers versus those with multiple data centers. The study concludes with a summary of the return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO) experiences of organizations undergoing data center consolidation and recommended best practices for mitigating risks in the migration effort. (8 pp., 9 figs.) [Executive Summary] |
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IT Spending Forecast for 2009-2010: Executive Summary Extending the Value of Legacy Systems Data Centers Slowing Growth of Server Counts 2009 IT Spending Forecast: No Growth IT Staffing Ratios: Special Report Bundle IT Project Manager Staff Levels Increasing Understanding IT Procurement Contracts Business Intelligence: Bright Spot in IT Investment |
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