Top CIO Priorities in 2002 Are Security, Internal Improvements

A Gartner survey indicates that enterprises will focus on short-term infrastructure needs rather than long-term projects. But firms shouldn't neglect new technologies altogether as they offer some good opportunities.

On 5 February 2002, Gartner released a survey of 1,500 CIOs belonging to Gartner's Executive Programs. The survey shows that their top 2002 priorities will be:

• Enhancing security and content management tools
• Strengthening application infrastructure
• Developing network infrastructure and e-enablement

Gartner's survey indicates that CIOs believe 2002 will be a difficult year, regardless of the timing of the economic recovery. IS departments must control costs without cutting into organizational muscle. Top IS management priorities include developing strategies around identifiable business value while improving the synchronization of business and IT.

Enterprises will likely focus on short-term infrastructure needs rather than long-term projects as cost considerations encourage enterprises to hold off on experimenting with new technologies. Compared to 2001, enterprises will give less emphasis to building interenterprise business processes and internal e-enablement, and will focus more on making short-term upgrades such as moving to Windows 2000.

Certain priorities stand out: for example, the need to protect data and manage access rights means developing security and content management tools will be at the top of the list. Internal application development priorities will focus on short- and medium-term components such as middleware, Windows 2000, customer relationship management and workflow. Network infrastructure development will likely involve better network management tools and both internal and interenterprise e-enabling technologies.

Despite the sluggish business climate in 2002, Gartner urges enterprises not to completely neglect new technologies since doing so could leave them vulnerable when the economy improves. Although money will be tight in 2002, judicious experimentation with new technologies will pay off in the medium term.

Analytical Sources: Marianne Broadbent, IT Executive Programs, and Andrew Rowsell-Jones, Electronic Commerce & Extranet Applications

Need to Know: Reference Material and Recommended Reading

• "Predicts 2002: What's Ahead for IT Infrastructure" (COM-15-1850). 2002 will be an unsettled year for the hardware, software and telecommunication markets as enterprises focus on cost reduction and tactical investments in technology. By Mark Nicolett
• "Predicts 2002: What's Ahead for Software Infrastructure" (COM-15-1975). Gartner believes opportunities driven by application integration will proliferate in 2002. By David McCoy

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