IT budgets are no doubt tight, and getting tighter despite the budget increases promised before the UK economy took a dive. However, this also means that the IT suppliers are now more flexible about their commercial terms. As you will see from our housing management systems article on page xx and from recent news stories, technology suppliers are now much more willing to work on a shared risk/reward basis against measurable, pre-agreed benchmarks or to spread the costs of technology projects over a longer period of time, rather than as a one-off, large capital cost.
So while it may not be the right time for the complete replacement of your entire IT infrastructure, there are undoubtedly pragmatic, low-cost IT projects that could be undertaken to not only save costs in the short term but also bolster long-term plans for improved communications, workflow and integration. Talk to the technology suppliers; they’ll be keen to help.
