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Research Reveals that 75% of Organisations Feel IT Investment Decisions
Should Be Improved
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European Organisations Struggle to Stamp Control on IT Operations due to a Lack of Visibility and Planning
London, UK - 16th May 2005 - A survey of 400 European CIOs, CTOs and IT Directors, commissioned by Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR), the software and services company, has today revealed that 75 per cent of organisations feel that the process through which IT investment decisions are made should be improved. This is not surprising given that 69 per cent of respondents are still reliant on manual processes to manage their IT portfolio, rather than an automated IT application. The end result is that organisations are limited in their ability to align IT investments to the needs of the business.
"Budgets may have fallen over the past few years, but IT still consumes a large part of an organisations annual spend. It is imperative that investment decisions are based on the strategic needs of the business," commented Ayman Gabarin, VP EMEA, Compuware IT Governance. "With both IT projects and day-to-day maintenance and development it is often the case that whoever shouts loudest, or is most influential within the organisation, is given priority. The result of such a culture is that too often the IT initiatives that have the best strategic fit with the business are not given the focus or investment they demand or require. With no central application in place to manage project selection and regular maintenance and upgrade activities, the IT department is fighting an uphill battle in terms of prioritising work and allocating team members time to satisfy all of the various demands being placed upon it. This lack of investment means that the department is not able to improve its service to customers and the business. You wouldn't expect the finance department to manage without some sort of accountancy application, even if it is a basic database, yet ironically IT department has no applications to support its operations."
The research also found only 24 per cent of organisations have an automated IT application that allows them to match and track resources against allocated budget. 69 per cent of respondents have no such automation and so are forced to carry out this complicated task manually. The remaining 7 per cent alternate between using both manual and automated methods. In 71 per cent of organisations, financial control and planning for both IT projects and non-related project work is carried out periodically in meetings. Such poor visibility of projects is causing increased headaches for IT departments that are already facing pressure to deliver value with limited budgets and resources, leaving them unable to juggle all the demands placed on them. Only 25 per cent of organisations are using an application that provides them with integrated skills based resource planning and budgetary control.
"A lack of insight into projects and a heavy reliance on manual methods can lead to IT directors feeling like they are chasing their own tails. Without the ability to match and track the resources being allocated to each initiative accurately, IT directors can start to feel like they are losing their financial grip as projects start to spiral both off track and over budget. With budgets coming under greater scrutiny this is not the ideal situation in which to find yourself," said Gabarin. "IT will only be effective if resources are managed in a way to support the business needs and where the value if IT is visible, but can those organisations who have no insight into the projects or systems that staff are working on be sure that they will get the desired result? The research would suggest that poor resource management is a by-product of relying on manual and ad hoc processes. In order to ensure that projects and initiatives are staying on track and on budget, the IT department needs access to real time visibility into operational performance that will allow them to accelerate and improve decision making."
This research commissioned by Compuware Corporation was undertaken by
an independent research company, called Illuma Research, with 400 CIO's,
CTO's and IT Directors from France, Holland, Germany and the UK.
About Compuware
Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) maximises the value IT brings to the business by helping CIOs more effectively manage the business of IT. Compuware solutions accelerate the development, improve the quality and enhance the performance of critical business systems while enabling CIOs to align and govern the entire IT portfolio, increasing efficiency, cost control and employee productivity throughout the IT organisation. Founded in 1973, Compuware serves the world's leading IT organisations, including more than 90 per cent of the Fortune 100 companies.
For more information visit: www.compuware.co.uk
Compuware is a registered trademark of Compuware Corporation. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Compuware is a member of The Prince's Trust Technology Leadership Group (TLG), a premier industry-networking forum for leaders within the IT industry, established in May 2002.
For Compuware Press Inquiries Contact:
Sophie Jarvis/ Barbara Bajkowski
Spark Communications
020 7357 8612
barbara@sparkcomms.co.uk
sophie@sparkcomms.co.uk
