Dr. Elliot King

The problem with most surveys outlining IT priorities is that they cast too big a net. While generally speaking, corporate CIOs may rank business intelligence high on the priority list, for example, the overall number masks the fact that priorities are different for different sized organizations in different industries.

The divergence in priorities according to company size and industry sector was made very clear in a new survey by IBM, which studied mid-market (100 to 1000 employees) companies. More than 2100 key decision-makers were polled and not surprisingly, business priorities varied from industry to industry and IT priorities mapped closely to those business priorities. 

For example, the top business priority for retailers was to develop new ways to reach customers.   Appropriately enough, retailers’ top IT focus area was customer relationship management applications.   For the financial sector, cost reduction and improved efficiency was front and center on the agenda and security management was the number one focus area.   And so it goes.     The insurance industry also was interested in improving efficiency but its primary IT focal point was regulatory compliance.

Certain trends, however, did emerge from the study.   Customer relationship management was the top focus area in three of the six identified industry sectors.   Security management was one of the top four priorities across the board.   Only retailers ranked Web 2.0 and social media technologies among their top priorities.

While usually very interesting, broad-based surveys can only be one type of indicator in determining the business and IT priorities for your organization.   Determining what your peer group is doing is probably even more important. Tracking the organizations with whom you compete can help you understand the concerns in your specific neighborhood, so to speak.

For the SMB, the IBM study did reveal a deep shift in the mindset of decision-makers at mid-market companies since 2009, however.   Two years ago, when the economy was still reeling from the financial meltdown, most mid-sized companies were resolutely focused on increasing operating efficiency and cutting costs. Those days are behind us now. The customer is now the center of attention.

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