Introduction

IT management continues to be under pressure to develop an effective strategy and to deliver services that meet the objectives of the enterprise. In order to meet these requirements, it is essential that there is a thorough understanding of the IT environment, the current and future demands of the business, and what activities are necessary to add value.

Scope

*Discusses the economic outlook for IT departments in 2010 and how this will impact budgeting and planning.

*Describes the key technology trends that will provide a flexible IT foundation.

*Provides advice for enterprise IT management and their suppliers.

*Covers all industry sectors and geographies.

Highlights

The focus for IT management in 2010 must be to ensure that IT is proactively engaged with the organisation. The IT function should be integral to the way the enterprise operates and actively collaborate with external entities as well. Because it remains very difficult to predict future demands, flexibility continues to be a key attribute.

Whilst the economic climate remains difficult, IT management should not focus purely on short-term survival strategies, but must also plan for the post-recession situation, being prepared to meet the demands and requirements of the business as the economy begins to recover.

A significant component of any business today is its IT services, forming the foundation on which many critical business processes are based. As such, management software capable of monitoring and administering services becomes an important element of the overall IT operational equation.

Reasons to Purchase

*Understand the long term implications of the post-recession outlook on enterprise IT spending.

*Discover best practices in designing an agile foundation for enterprise IT.

*Learn how an architectural approach can help an organisation better understand its current and future IT environment.

Overview 2
CATALYST 2
SUMMARY 2
OVUM VIEW 2
analysis 3
SUPPORTING THE MOVE FROM RECESSION TO RECOVERY 4
IT needs to be central to the formulation of new business models and products 4
Run-the-organisation spending still accounts for 70% or more of most IT budgets 4
Crucial to think about the long-term implications of cost savings 5
KEEPING PACE WITH EVER-INCREASING STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS 5
User choice should start to be factored into IT strategy 6
IT management needs to start taking account of the increasingly connected world 6
Improving operational effectiveness and flexibility 6
PRIORITISING IT DELIVERABLES SO THEY MEET BUSINESS OBJECTIVES 7
Strong portfolio, programme and project management will be essential 8
Effective IT governance with a clear framework for IT decision-making remains important 8
THE EXTENDED AND VIRTUAL ENTERPRISE WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR IT 9
Support for the agile organisation is becoming a necessity 9
Security concerns can dissuade enterprises from making investment in remote working 9
Management is a critical capability in the extended environment 10
ACTIONS 10
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORGANISATIONS 11
End-to-end monitoring and measuring of the environment must be deployed 11
Use enterprise architecture to gain an understanding of current and future states 11
Optimise IT services to meet the demands of the organisation 11
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROVIDERS OF TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES 12
The marketing message should include aspects of customer satisfaction 12
Vendors must be innovative with financing options and address virtualisation issues 13
An opportunity exists to be a provider of shared services 14
APPENDIX 15
DEFINITIONS 15
CoBIT (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology) 15
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) 15
SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) 15
METHODOLOGY 15
FURTHER READING 15
LEAD AUTHOR 15
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS 16
OVUM CONSULTING 16
DISCLAIMER 16
List of Figures
Figure 1: Major strategic goals 7
Figure 2: Important objectives for IT investment strategy: general business 13