Prepare for better times

SINCE I TOOK the CTO position at InfoWorld last April and began writing this column in June, the economic environment has been on a constant slide. In June, economic analysts said a recovery was six months away, and then delivered the same message through the end of the summer. On Sept. 11, things seemed to hit rock-bottom as everyone realized an economic recovery might be delayed indefinitely.

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Now pick up any business publication and a growing number of analysts are beginning to see some light at the end of the economic tunnel. Sure, there are still discouraging signs in the economic picture; but to keep ahead of the curve, CTOs must now reckon with the distinct possibility of an imminent economic upturn. CTOs: Are you ready for an upswing?

Looking back at 2001 and looking forward to a potential recovery in 2002, I ask myself the following questions to judge my readiness for the rebound.

Have you renegotiated contracts with your vendors and partners? In some ways, this is the most important item on the list because it is the most time-sensitive. Although negotiating is a feature of any CTO's job in any economic environment, the depressed economy (particularly in the IT sector) has created amazing opportunities for, let's say, "rightsizing" some of the deals that you signed back in the heat of the tech boom. At InfoWorld, we've saved significantly on everything from Web hosting and general telco expenses to printer maintenance. Don't let the opportunities pass you by; when the economy heats up, your call to vendors pleading for a better deal might fall on deaf ears.

Have you simplified your IT infrastructure? When I began my job at InfoWorld, the primary networking operating system was Novell NetWare, with some Windows NT thrown in. Not only did this complicate matters as heterogeneous systems needed to share information, it increased the strain on staff who had to be up-to-speed on myriad integration issues. Many of the low-end functions for our Web site (such as static Web page serving) sat on high-end Sun Solaris machines. We're going to be finishing up a full NT migration within the next three months -- retiring Netware -- and the low-end Web serving has moved to Linux. (An aside: If a move to Linux from Solaris seems like a lateral move in terms of simplification, talk to my systems administrators who can get a network card from the CompUSA down the street in a pinch instead of going to a Sun reseller.)

Have you refocused staff on revenue-making opportunities? The past year has provided an excellent opportunity to alter the way your organization thinks and to focus everyone on revenue-producing initiatives. Although this might seem obvious -- who plans to lose money on anything? -- most CTOs know that a number of projects were pursued because they were "cool" or because everyone else was doing it. By now, your organization should have mostly purged the New Economy way of thinking and honed critical decision-making skills that will help everyone spot the losing projects before they even begin.

Have you made critical IT investments? Obviously, not all projects can be immediate revenue producers, but the ones that are not should provide the base infrastructure for future moneymakers. At InfoWorld, we are currently arming ourselves with new content management, print publishing, and SFA (sales-force automation) systems.

Producing print and online content and selling services to our advertisers and readers are our core businesses, so we should be well-prepared as business improves. Here's hoping for the rebound sooner rather than later. Cross your fingers.