Great opportunity for us to lead the way

Jul 17 2008 by Alistair McLeod, The Journal

THE world is full of gloom and doom at the moment, and one could be forgiven for believing that we are facing the end of civilisation as we know it.

There is another way of looking at the future, however, without refusing to acknowledge the challenges ahead.

If the recent slowdown in economic growth, rising fuel costs and inflationary pressures really do indicate difficult times ahead, then this is a great opportunity for the North East business community to lead the way in demonstrating that it is well prepared to cope.

It is during such periods that inefficiencies and bad practices are cruelly exposed and, in order to limit the impact, a well-defined framework for economic sustainability is required.

This includes a clear view on business performance, a tight control on costs, and well-managed efficient processes. The only way this can be sensibly managed is by using technol- ogy as a facilitator for growth and efficiency.

Business leaders should be looking for creative ways to exploit technology in order to help drive improvements. Historically, this has often been a difficult notion to embrace, particularly in leaner times, and ironically it is usually the IT budget that gets cut first.

Here in the region we have seen a culture shift as business leaders are quick to recognise IT as a business tool rather than a technology enigma and to embrace it with enthusiasm.

We have seen local companies where business intelligence solutions are being used to offer enormous value by providing transparency throughout the organisation and facilitating accurate decision-making.

There are companies which have recognised that fully integrated business systems can reduce duplication of effort and improve customer delivery and the latest technology for communication and collaboration technology has enabled seamless team working.

We find that companies in the North East are far-sighted and creative in their approach and used to thinking laterally and outside the usual box mentality.

We have customers who have reduced the ownership costs of the IT infrastructure by adopting virtualisation technologies, where multiple servers can be run from one physical box making savings on hardware, energy and maintenance.

Outsourced support contracts have been reviewed because high- availability infrastructure is now a reality, and the need for constant 24-hour support and on-site reactive presence is less of a priority.

Proactive server monitoring software can also help as it reduces routine maintenance time, mitigates system downtime and helps predict problems before they occur.

Chief information officers and IT managers have increasing responsibility that requires both business and leadership skills, enhanced by an understanding of new technologies and how they can be applied effectively.

If they can bridge the gap between business requirements and technology, and demonstrate the tangible benefits that can be achieved, then they will be well-placed to ensure they can fulfil an important role in helping their organisations achieve economic stability during uncertain times.

The North East is full of entrepreneurial managers who are embracing technology and using the constraints of the current climate to facilitate creativity and change.

Alistair McLeod is an executive consultant at Waterstons, specialising in business improvement consulting