The value of IT in an economic
recession
Prepared by Daniel Evrard

Background
 The crisis in the financial sector has snowball effects in other sectors of activity
 We are living (nearly) unprecedented economic turbulences and this on a global basis. The financial crisis
that was affecting predominantly the financial industry is now already affecting other sectors of activity.
 It’s not only economics, it’s also about trust
 Another key element in today’s crisis is its strong psychological component, ie the trust factor and the
confidence that an organization is able to generate in the mind of the investors. Therefore, companies that
manage to provide consistently reliable information on their performance in their markets and on the way
they plan to handle the crisis stand a bigger chance to keep investor’s trust.
 When strong wind comes, you can build either shelters or windmills
 In this context, is “Doing less of the same” really the only strategy? While many companies apply a defensive
position, others have more aggressive strategies, in terms of gaining market shares , seeking for acquisitions
opportunities, optimizing their operations, or looking at separation of parts of their non-core activities.
 Now the opportunity lies with the CIO, as to demonstrate the added-value of the IT
investments.
 This happens, at this scale, for the first time since IT has grown into an integrated component of the
business.
 And, this time, IT is not to blame !

Objectives & Deliverables
The objective is to identify where opportunities lie for higher contribution
of IT in an economic recession, what the CIO needs to improve his/her
chances of success, and which specific actions he/she could undertake.
The expected outcome will provide insights for business CEOs in terms of
opportunities for leverage of IT in their business to face the economic
recession.
It will also provide a number of recommendations for CIOs to
demonstrate their ability in terms of Business Vision, Technology
Leadership and Operational Management.

Examples of Corporate business directions & IT contribution
 Build business “offensive” strategy (eg develop new ways to market, acquisitions of competitors, …) with
technology (e-marketing & sales channels, CRM, fast IT Due Diligence and Integration,…)
 Restore Market confidence through Information & Risk Management: Build smart access to corporate
information, prospective simulation systems,..)
 Increase Business & IT efficiency (organisational models such as SSC, process automation,..)
 Contain Cost (Business constriction, IT spend, Vendor management,..)

Your input will be greatly appreciated!