In-Depth
Gartner CEO Sees Big Growth Ahead; Points to Four Key Technologies
Companies are beginning to make the turn from protecting profitability to driving growth.
Gartner Group has not been optimistic throughout the IT recession these past few years, so when its CEO stands up and says that the IT market will grow, it is worth listening.
Michael Fleisher doesn’t just point to growth. He says the difference between 2006 and 2003 will be as big, but in the opposite direction as the difference between now and the heady days of 1999.
Speaking at his company’s Itxpo, Flesiher told the audience, “A big turn is coming. Companies are beginning to make the turn from protecting profitability to driving growth. Cost-cutting will remain important, but it will no longer be your CEO's number one priority.”
In his speech, Fleisher identified four specific technologies that corporate leaders—CEOs as well as CIOs—will embrace to support a renewed corporate emphasis on innovation to support business growth: secure broadband wireless, mobile devices, more cheap computing power running on open source, and a transition to service-oriented IT architectures.
“For example, the ability to wirelessly and continuously identify, verify, and track physical devices will enable stunning efficiencies in transportation, logistics, distribution, and retail," he said. "The combination of secure broadband wireless, electronic paper, and very large, low-cost memory will have major consequences for the paper industry, media and advertising."
The IT spending recovery likely will accelerate moderately through 2005 and into 2006, he predicts. By then, several advancing technologies will converge to further accelerate spending as IT managers act on unprecedented new options to improve the flexibility, efficiency, and profitability of many business processes.
Fleisher also said that despite the downturn in IT spending in the past three years, many forward-thinking companies have continued to spend, led by the key principles of outsourcing non core IT, standardizing core IT, cutting down on the number of suppliers they deal with, and retaining control of IT strategic planning.
In another speech given at the symposium, Gartner said 85 percent of companies have yet to factor in the cost of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance into their budgets.
Editor's note: This story was originally posted by Enterprise Strategies on Oct 31.
About the Author
Rethink Research Associates (www.rethinkresearch.biz) provides analyst and research publications and consultancy/advisory services on enterprise IT, wireless technology, and broadband digital media.