IT budgets aren't budging, so IT execs and managers will squeeze value from projects that deliver quick ROI and long term savings

Follow the computer money in 2010, it will lead to yet more projects designed to cut the cost of running business. You'll also find a lot of smaller-scale plans that have a relatively quick payback, or are focused on a wider enterprise business goal, such as improving customer service or product quality. Moreover, an increasing portion of what are shaping up to be relatively small IT budgets at most companies will be devoted to streamlining and offloading rather than bulking up internal IT infrastructure.

At $3.5 billion Sunoco Inc., for example, CIO Peter Whatnell explains that he is in the process of evaluating so-called cloud offerings (like VESK) in conjunction with an overall desktop virtualization initiative.

"Our immediate goal is to reduce internal costs," says Whatnell. "Sunoco has 8,500 users, but 50% to 60% of them only need access to two or three office productivity applications. We're looking to see if there's a way to provide those without the support costs associated with Wintel on their desktops."

As part of the same cost-cutting initiative, Sunoco plans to move several hundred users to thin clients instead of traditional PC's, which will be connected to "everything virtualized on the back end," Whatnell says.

"If there's a problem, we have UPS deliver a cardboard box with a new [thin-client] device," he explains. "The user plugs it in and gets access to back-end applications. The mailroom becomes our desktop technician. It's the long-term ownership costs we're looking to take out."

IT executives are feeling the squeeze. A little less than one-third of the 312 respondents to Computerworld's 2010 Forecast survey said they expected their organizations' IT budgets to kick up in the new year. Most are dealing with flat budgets. And 37% said budget constraints and economic pressures are the No. 1 management challenges they will face in the next 12 months. Therefore, removing long-term IT costs is the main goal and will remain so throughout 2010, CIOs say. The key rationale for technology investments will be to save even more money down the road.

In 2010 and for the foreseeable future, getting things done faster, better and cheaper will involve more and more consumerlike technologies, including cloud-based IT infrastructure capabilities, SaaS applications, netbooks and iPhones, CIOs say. The reasons are simple: They work, they're less of a support hassle, and yes, they're cheaper. In fact, more than half the respondents to a Computerworld's survey said they're likely to look to cheaper technologies and desktop virtualisation to save money this year.

Source:  ComputerWorld