Underinvestment in IT has impacted innovation, research claims

Datamonitor research commissioned by BT Global Services shows world business leaders are lamenting the lack of investment during the recession

Global business leaders believe underinvestment in IT has harmed innovation and hit them in the pocket during the recession, BT has claimed.

The firm's BT Global Services division commissioned Datamonitor to survey senior business leaders in 13 countries, including the UK.

Its report entitled 'Enterprise Intelligence: the challenge for the CIO in 2010' revealed that 23 per cent of respondents claimed IT budget cuts have prevented them from winning business.

A further 27 per cent claimed their inability to find the right information when they needed it has cost them business during the recession.

In addition, 61 per cent of CIOs and 63 per cent of senior executives claimed ageing IT is a barrier to their ability to 'think globally'. A further 57 per cent of CIOs blamed inadequate software solutions for the same issue.

Hanif Lalani, chief executiuve of BT Global Services, said: “This research provides a snapshot of the current mindset of global CIOs and senior executives, and it should act as a call to action on key issues such as the role IT plays in driving global business success.

“The research also highlights that in the current climate, CIOs face key decisions about how they approach the upturn, when it comes, to ensure they thrive. There is a growing consensus that innovation will be rewarded as we exit the recession.”

Despite the hype over cloud computing, the research revealed that more than half (53 per cent) of CIOs fail to see how cloud computing can save them money, and a further 57 per cent are not happy to run applications and store data on servers based outside their own country.

Lalani added: “Although we are already delivering enterprise-level cloud services, such as Unified Communications, CRM and virtual datacentres, many organisations are still in the early stages of adoption.

“As our customers begin to feel the benefits of the economic upturn, proactive measures such as cloud adoption will enhance their ability to deliver strong return on investment [ROI] in IT and network services.”