This doesn't bode well as we approach budgeting season. Although there may be a little bit of belt loosening going on in 2004, there'll still be plenty of pressure to contain or cut IT costs. And that, ironically, may mean investing more in the network to improve overall IT service delivery.
Back to Square One
The only way to get the funds you need is to cut existing costs. And that's do-able, providing you think things through. You might be able to centralize network administration, or institute network controls and cost-allocation tools to ensure that resources are used correctly. Perhaps you could adopt a unified network-access model, converging your data, voice and video networks, to compensate for rising WAN access fees, or drop to lower service levels by using public Internet services where private networks are overkill.
And yes, voice and data convergence is making headway--two-thirds of U.S. enterprises plan to implement VoIP in the next three years, with deployments picking up slightly in 2004 as ROI improves, according to a recent Meta Group study. In fact, 45 percent of Global 2000 companies expect an ROI for VoIP less than 18 months after deployment. Still, many companies are playing wait-and-see: Only 36 percent plan to deploy before 2005.
But before you implement any cost-cutting measures, take a good, hard look at how you spend your money. It may be tough, but force yourself to think, rethink and think again. This process, however painful, can lead you to some surprising conclusions, and can change your containment strategy drastically.
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