tech history

Companies Look to Technology 

HP recently announced new global research that shows organizations around the world expect technology to help them meet the challenges of today’s unpredictable business environment and anticipate future business needs. According to the global study, more than 90 percent of senior business decision makers believe business cycles will continue to be unpredictable in the next few years. Seven out of 10 believe this new economy will change the way business planning works. Nearly 75 percent of business leaders say their technology department is a fundamental enabler of their business’s success. Eight out of 10 leaders think the new economy will require significantly more technology focused on market-based needs. “Technology is the sustaining force of any organization. To succeed, organizations must be adept at using technology to navigate change and seize opportunities,” said Ann Livermore, executive vice president, HP Enterprise Business. “HP believes technology can and should make a significant contribution to every organization’s ability not just to cope, but to thrive. Our customers see this as well.” Shifting toward innovation According to 84 percent of business leaders, innovation is critical to their organization’s success in the new economy. Two-thirds of these business leaders are using technology to identify new business opportunities and 71 percent said they would invest in more technology if they could see it was meeting time-to-market and business opportunity needs. Demands for rapid change The research also shows 80 percent of organizations indicated their business and technology approach must be more flexible to meet changing customer needs. More than half of chief information officers (CIOs) globally are currently being called upon to make frequent rapid changes in technology to support the business (ranging from 65 percent in Latin America to 49 percent in Asia Pacific). Very few CIOs – only six percent overall – said they are never called upon to make rapid changes in technology to meet changing business needs. Looking forward two to three years, 62 percent of all CIOs agreed they would frequently have to make rapid changes to their technology platforms. Thriving in unpredictability Eighty-nine percent of organizations in all regions believe it is possible that companies that go back to the old ways of planning business growth and market development will lose out to those that master the effective use of technology in the unpredictable business climate. Methodology Coleman Parkes Research Ltd. conducted the survey, commissioned by HP, by performing 550 detailed interviews with 150 business executives (chief executive officers/managing directors) and 400 technology experts (CIOs/chief operations officers). All fieldwork was undertaken in September and very early October and only companies with more than 500 employees were included. Twenty-five percent of organizations surveyed were mid-sized companies (500-999 employees) and the rest were enterprise organizations with more than 1,000 employees. Regions included: North America (United States and Canada), Europe and the Middle East (Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Russia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom), Asia Pacific (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea), and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico). More data is available at www.hp.com/go/HPEnterpriseResearch09. About HP HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society.....www.hp.com