An organisation's IT budget is affected by myriad factors, from the size of the business and its financial health to the industry sector it operates in and the state of the economy as a whole. Above all, a good IT budget, one that doesn't just keep the lights on, but drives innovation and enables the business' employees to function more productively, is the result of a CIO who is well researched and well prepared. When the time comes for the IT department to fight for its slice of budgetary resources in the boardroom, the CIO is ready.
Budgets can make or break an IT department. A well thought-out budget for your company's IT department is a delicate balancing act of rands-and-cents responsibility and technological strategy. In the South African context, IT budgets are being squeezed harder than ever, with continuing economic sluggishness impacting negatively on enterprise investment plans, and SMEs experiencing more and more difficulty securing credit and outside investment.
Hampering South African enterprises' IT ambitions even further is a severe skills shortage that limits and slows the adoption of new technologies. Cost efficiency, optimisation and integration remain important goals for any CIO, but there is also increasing pressure for the IT department to justify its spend based on its empirical ROI, and to demonstrate its ability to deliver the business a tangible competitive advantage.
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