Ten Key Information Technology strategies for crisis times

Information Technology managers have today a great challenge: they need to enable the organization to address market demands, while improving efficiency in their resources’ usage to preserve service levels and develop innovation projects in customers’ organizations.

The recommendations for the technology innovations’ areas can be countless; allow us to suggest the following, according to our experts and customers:

1.- Keep calmed!

Each era has its own business development challenges. These challenges need to be assessed in order to identify opportunities and the IT focused actions to be taken. Technology innovation is, and for many years will be, a critical process for organizational success.

2.- Reconsider your implementation and usage of selected applications to cut down on costs

“We have all kinds of software,” is what we hear in organizations after long time of purchasing software from many vendors.

Working with several vendors has many advantages, however, we now have the opportunity to select and redesign applications architecture to focus on cutting down on maintenance costs and getting “on demand” services, among other options for reducing the total cost of ownership.

Some companies redesigned their applications usage, by means of the “Software-as-a-service” approach, for example, moving their communications to a VoIP platform.

3.- Help the Finance Management

Profitability is critical, and it always has an impact on the finance departments. Improving several processes, such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, and treasury, among others, may have a positive impact on cash flow.
Several organizations are integrating their billing process with their CRM to have automated billing.

4.- Ensure the stability of applications directly related to customers

Avoid making modifications in your operation that might affect your relationship with your customers, i.e. applications such as email, e-commerce, and access to shared applications. You can put off the acquisition of hardware and software, but do not allow this to diminish your service performance.

5.- Convert fixed costs into variable costs

Today, the focus is not on reducing budgets, but on improving its execution. Much software, hardware, and other specialized services are acquired as fixed costs (to be distributed); however, those companies with a variable costs base achieve better profitability, as well as operations efficiency.

6.- Invest in initiatives that improve the competitive advantage

The competitive advantage has not only to be kept, but also improved. Frequently, investments in competitive advantage innovation investment from the technological perspective, reduce costs and improve customer attention.

7.- Invest in new technologies and/or new platforms only when the business is worth it

When acquiring new technologies, be sure to have a business case that clearly outlines benefits such as, cutting down on costs, process efficiency, and/or a considerable increase in sales, otherwise adjourn these investments until you have a comprehensive competitive and economic plan.

8.- Preserve your good employees

Do not loose the skills and knowledge acquired, since it will be more expensive to have them back in the future. It is important to preserve a good working environment in the IT area and make sure nobody wants to leave; not everything is money. Following are four key factors that can help retaining your IT staff:

• Training and fast experiences generation.
• Challenging projects.
• IT alignment with business relevant issues.
• Open communications.

9. - Guarantee, protect, and backup your security environment

Secure your information, the greatest asset in your organization. Information is critical for decision making,  for supporting processes,  as foundation for regulations compliance, or as evidence of the companies engagements and its accomplishment.

10.- Redefine your IT approach

It is important to reconsider the existence of the IT area in the organization, in terms of its support in increasing sales, optimizing processes, cutting down on costs, issuing decision making reports, IT’s role is critical for the organization's financial results. It is now the time to show it!

Finally, we have to remember we are playing in a global market and to succeed we need to be different by means of innovation.

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