This document discusses trends in strategic IT solutions for businesses in a tough economy. It recommends focusing on customer care, smart spending, and innovation through strategic uses of technology like open source software, cloud computing, and virtualization. These approaches can help businesses cut costs while improving customer relationships and processes to survive and even excel during difficult economic times.

1. Trends in Strategic IT Solutions in a Tough Economy

2. ness to out maneuver,
Is there a w ay for busi
ive a tough economy?
not just surv
Of course! Though it won’t be easy. (It never is!)

3. effective approach to
T is the single, most e! - Gene
I
ng business performanc
improvi
Hall, G artner CEO
Yet, it isn’t just about IT? CIOs know it is more
than just that!

4. e ss and IT A lignment!
Busin
CIOs should participate in innovation around the company’s
business model, which goes beyond contributions to
products, services, and operations. Managing infrastructure
is worthless if the business fails.

5. n we make it simpler?
So ca
We can start with the
3 Keys to Surviving a Tough Economy!

6. e of Your Cu stomers!
Take (Bet ter) Car
1
Do you have a customer department or a customer
mindset? Invest in human capital and take care of
the people who will take care of the customers!

7. Smart Spending
2
Reduce operational costs. Don’t decide on where to
cut, decide on where to spend!

8. Learn t o Innovate
3
ets make
fat budg isis!
s t succe sses and es of cr
arch. Pa est in tim
Do the rese ovations come b
for ine rtia! Inn

9. Strategic IT Solutions
Innovation
Think “bang for the buck”; something for the long-
term. But be wary of hype! Study data. Look at the
trends.

10. ack to Busin ess and IT
But wa it, let’s go b
A lignment.
Technology and IT Solutions. How can IT help in
keeping customers, spending smartly and help the
company innovate?

11. egin with S oftware ...
Let’s b
Take CRM for example. “Customer
Relationship Management is your approach
and strategy for finding, captivating and
keeping customers warmly tucked to your
base.”

12. continue to grow ...
Sof tware sales
While sales revenues go plunging down, software
spending continues to rise (Majority are enterprise
applications!)

13. It’s not just any kind of
But let’s clear that!
software!
Not the costly, traditional and legacy-type. Nope.

14. olutionary, called Open
It’s so mething ev
Source!
Open source is less of an IT revolution than an
evolution. For example, in Web technology and
cloud computing, open source is leading the way
in innovation.

15. ce is Smart Spending;
Open Sour
It’s Freedom!
No annual software licenses to pay and no hidden
caveats. Want out? It’s easy. Open Source is open
standards so no costly migration issues. Open
Source is freedom from costly software, from
oppressive legacy standards and from proprietary
lock-in!

16. lity is Softw are Future!
n Source Qua
Ope
Besides low TCO, it simply offers better quality. Proof?
85% of enterprises currently use OSS even while some
may not be aware of it.

17. What abou t hardware?
In a recent US survey, projected sales for hardware
and infrastructure amount to ‘0’!

18. om cost, co uld this be
Apart fr
the reason?
Both Gartner –Top Ten Strategic Technologies for
2009, and Forrester -The State Of Emerging
Enterprise/SMB Hardware Trends: 2008 To 2009,
has included Virtualization and Cloud Computing
to rapidly rule the technology trend.

19. Do more w ith fewer
Innovatio n needed!
resources!
More and more, IT departments are burdened with
increasing infrastructure requirements but without
the corresponding increase in resources.

20. ora of Clou d Options!
A Pleth
The ability to outsource business processes
to the cloud will force companies to rethink
how they view their business processes.
Business owners will be forced to justify
any exceptions or proprietary processes
that prohibit the company from
leveraging "cloud ready" business
processes.

21. has around 22 different
Cloud computing
d efinitions!
But this is essentially what it is:
No infrastructure - like electricity, pay
for what you use; leverage web
connectivity

22. pay only for what you
Utility mo del means
use! G reen I.T.!
otprints.
carbon-fo
you will s ave. Less
y it 's the big
T hink of the energ but dat a shows, ! Spend
r start-ups Spending
Wor ks best fo ! Smart!
use it more
co mpa nies who usiness.
time on y our core b
more

23. Cloud Co mputing: An
Open Source and wo Punch!
dustry-Alte ring, One-T
In
Cloud computing and open source software share a symbiotic
relationship in that each is driving the growth and maturation of
the other. Its combination will increase service delivery over
traditional forms of software consumption, and together will drive
down the costs traditionally associated with the software industry.

24. App rehensive?
IT can't push back forever on new initiatives and forego its
"strategic" role entirely, even in tough times. And when those
projects come down the pike, which is worse: pushing
internal IT to the breaking point or pushing some of that
workload onto cloud services?

25. n! Cloud C omputing .
Thin k Innovatio e Solutions
pen Sourc
Smart Spending! O
And keep, captivate and attract more customers! Go
beyond survival mode and excel, even beyond a tough
economy.
Thank You!