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Guest Blog: The Role of IT in an Economic Downturn: Trends from a Partner Perspective

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Hi, I’m John Endter, president of E Squared C LLC, a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and Small Business Specialist located out of Minden, Nevada.

In today’s economy, organizations are spending money wisely. Investment in virtualization, mobility, and security is up and the Harris Poll survey supports this notion. As the economy improves, IT investment will lead us to more prosperous times.

The survey reiterates what I have been seeing in the technology sector. With today’s economy being what it is, companies must find ways to become more efficient, cut costs, and be more productive while at the same time maintaining a secure computing environment.

To begin, one way companies can gain efficiencies and cut costs is through virtualization. The survey reports that 42% of those surveyed plan on investing in virtualization. Much of the server infrastructure we are dealing with is approaching 6 years old and some as old as 8 years. IT departments are looking for ways to simultaneously replace their aging infrastructure and improve the efficiency of their systems. Virtualization brings this to table and the survey supports what we are seeing in the industry.

Next, increasing employee productivity is another area of focus for IT departments. The survey points out that an overwhelming 92% of IT pros surveyed cited improving end-user productivity as a reason for innovation. We are seeing many companies getting very creative with how and where their employees work. Much of the IT spending is budgeted for mobility and remote workers. Windows Server 2008 application virtualization is the hot topic here.

Finally, the survey points out the importance of maintaining a secure computing environment. 73% of those surveyed say that protecting customer and company data is their top priority. As more security breaches are reported in the media, companies are learning the importance of investing in technologies that protect their data. The cost of reactive security breach mitigation is far greater than the cost of proactive security protection and companies are finally realizing this fact.

-John

 

For more information about the survey, visit https://www.microsoft.com/infrastructure/resources/itprosurvey.mspx

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