There are signs of recovery. They are small and ephemeral, but they are there.
The state’s tax take is up, retail sales for Christmas were better than expected, house prices have either stopped falling or are increasing minutely in certain districts. Exports continue to do well and there appears to be a slight confidence returning that we are at least trundling along the bottom of this trend, if not gently climbing from the depths of the abyss.
Our recent talks in Irish Computer to vendors, distributors and resellers reveal that there is a realistic optimism that 2013 will see something of a recovery as organisations begin to spend in a way that will increase business. This is all good.
However, it reminds me of something about which I last wrote some years ago now, and that is intelligent cost cutting. Back in 2008 and 2009, when the slashing of costs was still high on the agenda, I, among others, warned of the need to cut costs in such a way as to leave the organisation and its structures free to expand again when demand came.
Now, I’ll admit when I wrote on this topic last, I did not think it would be four years before the need arose, but here we are. So, how has your organisation faired? Have you looked seriously to see if your systems and services are fit to meet increased demand this year? Irrespective of whether you are seeing increased demand now, the likelihood is that if the general economy begins to recover this year, the rising tide will, as the old saying goes, lift all boats. So, whether your immediate forecast is already rosy or not, it may now be time to look and see if you and your organisation are ready to meet future demand.
From an IT perspective, this may be storage or network capacity, internal support and/or external bandwidth, but the point is, when you cut back, did you do so in a dismantling fashion? Or was it more a cauterising action?
If, as you look around, you find cauterised stumps where once services were, you might be in trouble. If you find already maxed out services or hardware, it may be time call attention to the problem. However, if you find systems, services and procedures that were well managed in both downsizing and design, then you should be able to build on those bases to allow your organisation to meet the demand that should arise from a generally recovering economy.
But don’t worry. The way that tools, technology and services have developed since the dark days of early cutbacks, should make recovery easier than before. The practically anything ‘as a service’ trend means that most things a business needs can be delivered via the cloud, and can be done in relatively short time, from order to usage. However, it does mean meeting certain standards and capabilities within your organisation, which again, unless you kept current with developments to a certain degree, may leave you wanting.
But one thing is certain, now is the time to look and critically examine your organisation’s readiness. Without knowing where you are, you certainly won’t be able to figure out where you are going.
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