The Four Horsemen of IT in 2012

Saugatuck research clients might be interested in looking at a piece just written which provides pragmatic guidance to IT organizations for developing their plans for 2012. In this Strategic Perspective we identify four major forces which we expect to heavily influence enterprise IT strategies, and vie for IT resources, for the next twelve to twenty-four months. We also offer some pragmatic guidance .that can be summarized as:

1. Use of pilots – to gain knowledge while minimizing investment;
2. Appreciation of project “inertia” – i.e., consider the size of the investment and the time required to initiate and to terminate the project; and
3. Audience awareness – consider the potential benefits and exposures which can accrue from the users of initial pilots.

Even a cursory scan of trade publications yields that the hottest topics for business IT are: Analytics, Cloud, Mobility, and Social. And, Saugatuck has shown that each of the four offers its own value to justify IT investment.

However, all geographic economies (Western Europe, Asia, North America, South America) are warily watching each other for signs of improvement or, more pointedly, hints of further bumps on the road to recovery. As a result, despite their attraction, most IT organizations are not being given budget increases to afford all four in 2012. In addition, most IT organizations are being cautioned to avoid beginning any costly project that cannot be readily “put on hold” (or terminated) if economic conditions worsen.

Without some pragmatic guidance on these four areas, IT organizations could be facing challenges analogous confronting the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Similarly, IT providers should appreciate the constraints imposed on IT organizations and structure proposed projects accordingly.

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