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Technologists Empowered at Gartner's Symposium IT/xpo IT Investments Set to Advance Networked Economy
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IT Investments Set to Advance Networked Economy
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., October 16, 2000 — At today's opening session of Gartner's Symposium IT/xpo in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Gartner Research Fellow Kenneth McGee urged an audience of 7,500 IT professionals to exploit opportunities that allow businesses to profoundly profit by making aggressive moves toward the networked economy.
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McGee outlined a radical shift in IT investments. Until recently, IT was largely used to improve productivity in post-sale, back-office operational business environments. According to Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB), an economic, societal, technological and even governmental shift has been delivered with the arrival of Internet-based technologies. During the next five years, and for the first time in history, Gartner predicts:
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- More than 50 percent of each new IT investment dollar will serve business processes outside an enterprise's back office, especially the most critical revenue-generating processes.
- More than 50 percent of each new IT investment dollar will serve business processes outside the enterprise, especially revenue-generating B2B processes.
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"In a word, the investments and profits yielded from a networked economy have only just begun," said McGee. "This is the day, the week, the hours we will look back on and say, I wish I had known what was about to happen. We do know. Never before has the sheer power of technology and knowledge lived so close to every company's bottom line."
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"Our clients are not crying about the demise of the dot-coms or the resetting of public valuations," said Michael D. Fleisher, CEO of Gartner. "They are gearing up for a sustained business-to-business networked economy that will make the dot-com phase look like a fad."
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Since the mid-nineties, there has been a trend for the CIO to move closer to business units and closer to the executive boardroom. Today, CIOs are at the executive table. In fact, according to Gartner, by 2005, the majority of CEOs from midsize and large companies will use IT as one of the top five preferred methods to increase earnings per share and cash flow. This is a powerful opportunity for CIOs, who now have a seat at the executive table and who may dramatically affect the bottom line.
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How should IT executives exploit this opportunity? Gartner Symposium IT/xpo attendees heard the following advice:
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- If you have not transformed legacy businesses into new networked economy-based business processes, do so.
- If you have already begun the transformation to a networked-based operation, stop and evaluate the effectiveness of the deployment.
- Maximize resources. If you are not transforming your 10 most-critical revenue and most-costly business functions into new networked-economy-based business processes, then the "Perfect Economy" is the time to stop and identify where correction might best serve the enterprise.
- Avoid lengthy deployment delays born from power struggles. Organize an enterprise e-business transformation team under a central figure, not a committee.
About Symposium/ITxpo
Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with a look today at the future of IT. For more than 10,000 IT professionals from the world's leading enterprises, Gartner's two annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of their annual planning efforts, and a place to gain insights into how their organizations can use technology to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency. For more information online, go to www.gartner.com/symposium.
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About Gartner
Gartner provides unrivaled thought leadership for more than 10,000 organizations, helping clients to achieve their business objectives through the intelligent and efficient use of technology. Additionally, Gartner helps technology companies identify and maximize technology market opportunities. Gartner's technology content and strong brand reach IT professionals globally through Gartner Research, its research and advisory unit, Gartner Services, its custom consulting unit; Gartner Events, including Gartner's renowned Symposia; and, at www.gartner.com. Gartner subsidiary TechRepublic, Inc. (
www.techrepublic.com) is the leading online destination developed exclusively for IT professionals by IT professionals. Gartner, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, achieved fiscal 1999 revenues of $734 million. Gartner's 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, are in more than 80 locations worldwide. For more information about Gartner's industry-leading products and services, please visit us on the Web at www.gartner.com.
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