CIOs in Asia Pacific bullish on upturn in economy

Though grave uncertainties shrouded the world economy in the last year, a majority of CIOs in Asia Pacific believe that an economic recovery will set in by 2010. This was revealed in a recently-unveiled poll report that outlines the CIOs' mindset for recovery based on a survey conducted by Hitachi Data Systems—a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. at its annual CIO Summit late last year. An overwhelming majority (86%) of the CIOs believe that a recovery will be in place by 2010.

Titled The CIO Roadmap to Recovery, the report summarizes the key CIO challenges in 2010 and the need for businesses to transform into leaner, greener, yet more flexible and business centered units. The report provides a detailed analysis and action plan of how CIOs and IT professionals can use limited funds in targeted, specific areas to derive the greatest possible strategic business value from IT in the most cost-effective way.

CIOs are challenged with flat IT budgets while managing the surge of data. As businesses gradually move towards recovery, CIOs need to take a hard and in-depth look at the areas that contribute towards building a resilient IT framework that will deliver results and help organizations succeed during an upturn. Hitachi Data Systems is focused on helping companies to drive redundant costs out of their storage implementation by utilizing existing assets. Strategic use of technologies such as virtualization and dynamic provisioning automate performance and increase utilization, helping enterprises align IT and business goals most effectively, said Vivekanand Venugopal, Vice President & General Manager, India, Hitachi Data Systems. The survey shed light on key CIO priorities for 2010 and cost management remains a perennial concern. With a growing expectation that IT organizations will shift from being a cost center to a profit center, a storage strategy that reduces OPEX is a top priority for APAC CIOs.

Reducing costs was highlighted again when the CIOs were asked what they value most in their organization's IT strategy. Reducing operating costs headed the list (50%) beating technology implementation.

The mindset towards adopting new technology in Asia Pacific is high, as 73% of the CIOs expressed interest in pursuing new technologies and to be one of the first to use them. However in the same vein, almost 50% of the CIOs were of the opinion that the inability to calculate the financial benefits (Return on Investment) of an improved information infrastructure presents the highest barrier to investing in new information infrastructure.