IT moves forward despite economic squeeze

While the economy is looking bad and some IT budgets are facing deep cuts, other executives are proceeding with IT projects as planned, because IT is so important to a company's survival. In a ComputerWorld.com article, Dale Frantz, the CIO of Auto Warehousing Co. which processes new cars for automakers, said salaries and hiring have been frozen. What's more, IT had a 24 percent budget cut this year, but he's been able to avoid layoffs so far.

The recession "isn't good for IT per se," Frantz told CW. "But we do have an opportunity to clean up the processes at facilities where things maybe weren't as efficient as they could be."

Marie Mouchet, CIO for electronic utility Southern Co.'s nuclear, power generation and wholesale power units, told CW the Atlanta-based company has cut merit raises, left vacancies unfilled and cut IT spending by 10 percent. Like Frantz, her business is still humming, but it's also still trying to cut costs.

For more on how IT is dealing with the economic slump:
- check out this ComputerWorld.com article

Related Articles:
IT budgets are more targeted
Putting numbers behind IT budget woes
Is security eating up your IT budget?