Email the Editor    Email a Friend    Print this Page 

The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says the global economy is showing definite signs of recovery, visible in all seven major economies, including France and Italy, as well as China, India and Russia. And the Conference Board of Canada says the Index of Business Confidence recorded its second consecutive double-digit increase for the third quarter of this year.

On the technology front, Forrester Research says 2010 marks the return of technology spending that started in 2007 but was snuffed out by a deeper-than-expected recession and financial crisis. IDC Corp. says the market is poised for the beginning of a significant infrastructure refresh cycle in the months ahead.

CDN interviewed analysts, economists, futurists, distributors and channel executives from across the country about what they're doing in preparation for the economic upturn.

1. Jim Carroll, innovation consultant

CDN: How is the recession changing the way we do business?

“There's a realization that we need to get to market faster, because consumer trends are happening faster, and IT plays a big role. If we don't have a solid infrastructure, if we can't collaborate, then we can't push ideas through the organization faster. And if you think about the rollout of IT, it's becoming more critical than ever before – it's the lifeblood by which we develop this ability to act fast. I talk [to clients] about business model disruption. In the next few years it's likely that our iPhones, BlackBerrys and mobile devices are going to become credit cards, and the entire financial industry will find that innovation will occur not at the previous speed of banking innovation, but at the speed of Silicon Valley innovation. So going forward into this next economy they need to ingest new technology faster and respond to faster business model disruption.”

2. Don Conaby, president, Conpute (Oshawa, Ont.)

CDN: How have you dealt with the recession?

“We spent most of the recession investing in our company, getting ready for the recovery. We used the recession to invest in increased head count for sales, and we revamped our sales and marketing strategies to take maximum advantage of the upswing expected in 2010. Investment in a down economy isn't easy, but it's necessary to fuel growth. This past year we have seen successes in smaller SMBs but had cutbacks we didn't expect in larger organizations. This recession has been very difficult to figure out or to plan for. The only good thing is we know that it will eventually come to an end.”

3. Mary Ann Yule, general manager, CDW Canada

CDN: As a national reseller, how are you preparing for 2010?

“We're seeing our customers be a little more optimistic about their spending in their view for 2010. We've continued to add net new customers – they're coming to us and we're seeking them out. We've spent a lot of energy this year in training and honing skills sets of our co-workers so they'd be better in a tough economy and that training will poise us for a stronger next year.”

4. James Alexander, senior vice-president, Info-Tech Research Group

CDN: Can we expect to see more IT spending next year?

“We certainly don't see a vast increase in IT spending, and even in conversations we have with customers, and these represent hundreds of conversations with customers over the last month or so, for 2010 they have an idea what they want to do, but they haven't locked and loaded and got final approval to do it. So while we can prioritize where people would like to invest, I don't think CFOs and other C-level folks have really said go ahead and spend. When you consider the vast proportion of an IT budget is really pre-spent in terms of keeping the lights on, for the [other] 20 or 25 per cent of the budget, folks are still cautious. It's a bit of a structural recession out there and things are not going to come back in the same way they were before. A lot of them are rethinking their old strategy in light of what's going on in their markets and with their customers and how the economy is restructuring around them.”

5. Jean-Jacques Dion, sales manager, Azuris Technologies (Montreal)

CDN: What is your economic outlook for the Quebec market?

“In the IT industry the requirements are still there, the storage requirements are still growing, and I don't really see anyone holding back on their budgets – it's still business as usual in the IT industry. A lot of companies are cutting back with employees, but the sales are still there. I haven't really seen any downturn to tell you the truth – I've heard of other resellers, but not us. We focus on high-performance computing and R&D, and usually this is when companies decide to reinvest so when [the economy] comes back they're ready, so 2010 is going to be pretty much business as usual for us. In Quebec the recession didn't hit as hard – I don't think it was that bad, even for other resellers.”

6. Warren Jestin, SVP & chief economist, Scotiabank

CDN: Are we seeing true signs of a recovery for 2010?

“We've been inundated for the last year with bad news, but gradually since the spring there's been some important signs of improvement and, whether you're looking at car sales or the housing market, they're all suggesting a turn is coming. Between now and next spring you're going to see optimism begin to return to the consumer market, but businesses are still pretty cautious because they've been through the ringer. The big issue for profits to return is not so much on the sales side – sales will improve but it won't be a boom. The big improvements in profitability are still going to come from cost cutting, so effectively that's where productivity improvements can be generated through IT. But by the time we get into the spring, you're going to find businesses in a more expansive mood – not expansive in the sense of building new buildings, but making workers more productive. ”

share: