Five Ideas: Getting IT Done

“In difficult economic times, you must retain your key customers to keep your revenue stream up. Where IT can help is by bringing your attention to areas where, for a relatively contained investment—and a fast return on that investment—you have opportunities for customer development and superior business insight that will ensure you stay ahead of the competition.”
—Cliff Godwin, senior vice president of Applications Development

“n an economic downturn, those companies that invest, develop, and capitalize on technologies that save money while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the business have an opportunity to grab significant market and mind share with new and existing customers."
—Samuel Greengard of Baseline Magazine

“We recognized that linking our overall business strategy and goals to technology requirements is the first step in arriving at an overall conceptual framework of our enterprise architecture."
—Rajesh Uppal, chief general manager of IT at Indian car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki

“Companies are looking to IT to generate economic returns. At the same time, tough economic conditions are elevating the pressure on IT professionals to contain costs and conserve cash. A smart way for customers to stretch their IT budgets is to take advantage of flexible payment options from Oracle Financing. Benefits to customers include reducing up-front cash outlay, preserving credit lines, obtaining total solution financing from a single source, and aligning payments to productivity benefits derived from the software."
—Anil Vora, vice president of Oracle Financing

“Typically the business says [to IT and the business unit], ‘Don’t talk to each other—you must go through the liaison. The appropriate role for the liaisons is to serve as a facilitator to make sure these conversations are appropriate and effective, whenever they can and as often as they can.”
—Jerry Luftman, distinguished professor and executive vice president of the Society for Information Management