Different organizations will respond in different ways to the current economic crisis, and for a whole range of factors:
industry sector, location, strategy, company culture and more.
We believe, however, that 4 main profiles will emerge.
Which one sounds like your organization?
the storm fighter
Profile:
this company has been seriously affected by the crisis and needs to take rapid action. In order to meet its financial targets, it must drastically cut costs wherever it is contractually possible.Solutions:
The crisis survivor will be looking for solutions that provide:• rapid reductions in network or travel costs
• savings through better knowledge and control of costs
• quick, short-term wins that can help fund medium-term cost-reduction projects
the savvy surfer
Profile:
this company may have been seriously affected by the crisis, but still wants to look forward and prepare its next move. These steps will include reducing budgets where possible in order to fund new projects that make sound financial sense for the company. Out-tasking or even outsourcing non-mission-critical functions may be considered.Solutions:
The savvy crisis surfer will be looking for:• solutions that offer quick cost reductions on travel or mobile voice and data costs
• effective collaborative solutions that can increase productivity and reduce time to market
• additional services such as voice to build on top of the existing IP network in order to improve productivity and effectiveness with limited additional expense
the forward looking decision-maker
Profile:
this company has been moderately affected by the crisis so is willing to focus on cost re-allocation rather than drastic cost-cutting. It wants to take advantage of the crisis to totally reshape its IT infrastructure and redefine its priorities to better serve the business.Solutions:
The forward-looking decision-maker survivor will be considering:• consolidation of data centers and virtualization of servers, to bring long-term agility to the business, making it more flexible to react to changing business requirements
• out-tasking of non-critical functions such as performance and service management, to allow internal focus on new projects
the crisis winner
Profile:
only moderately affected by the crisis, this company is sees an opportunity to take the leading edge and get stronger. It looks to focus on developing new business models, launching innovative services, and making acquisitions. It plans to leverage IT and telecoms to win market share and build leadership.Solutions:
The crisis winner will be considering:• innovative solutions such as Machine-to-machine or RFID that can completely transform business models and bring major improvements in diverse areas of customer service, stock management, etc – as well as increased revenues and reduced costs
