Economic downturn hits IT budgets

In a recent study released by SearchCIO, 42% of enterprise IT firms indicated a cut in budgets for 2009. While the cuts are not being made across the board, the pain is not set to one specific industry (as it seems that industries everywhere are scaling back significantly). 

How do you pan out?

Read the article by clicking here 

Information Technology (IT) Trend Report for 2009

A number of software, hardware, and IT service companies have recently been coming to me and asking about trends for 2009; and more importantly, if the budgetary cut backs due to the recession will be lifted anytime soon. What we found were some very exciting and refreshing statistics that should take a big weight off of any one's shoulders (that work in IT of course). With all of these  statistics, we thought the best way to share our new found data was through our first ever newsletter direct to the IT community. Here are some highlights from the newsletter:

1. IT purchases are expected to grow to $616 billion in 2010 for a 7.5% increase from 2009 sales.
2. Software spending is expected to grow 3.4 percent in 2009
3. Gartner recommends the top 10 ways to save and do more with less
4. SaSS is growing at a rate of 40% annually 
5. Highlights on the top trends for IT spending (where the money is being spent)

This newsletter is NO COST and available to any interested parties.

Top 5 Marketing trends for 2009

In 2009 more people are looking for ways they can "Do more with less" by saving time and money through an effective go-to-market campaign. At TSL, we believe there are many things that can be done to enhance your lead generation efforts.Read this months article Top 5 marketing trends for 2009 and learn about:

Affordable multi-touch campaigns
Trends and statistics for 2009 marketing
How to optimize your landing pages
Market to a mass media and still save
Effective social media planning

For more information, please contact Tara Donnelly at:
Email: tdonnelly@tslmarketing.com
Phone: 617 753 9124

How to go-to-market as an IT firm in 2009

With the economy in it's current state, it is no question that many industries are being affected more so than others. For technology companies, the hit has not been as hard, yet companies are now being asked to scale back on new purchases and CIO's across this nation are beginning to re-organize their departments. So what does this mean for an IT company who is looking to sell their software/hardware? 

Earlier this year we asked "What impact will the current Economic Crisis have on IT Budgets" and more importantly, who you thought would benefit the most. Here are the results:

1. Software Providers 15%
2. SaaS 31%
3. ERP Services 8%
4. Outsourcing 38%
5. Offshoring 8%

Based on this pole, you believe that outsourcing will benefit most from the current economic crisis. Other research points towards similar numbers as well. The important thing to note here is that there still is a wide variety of different IT companies who can benefit during the economic crisis and while some may benefit more than others, all can benefit if they play their cards right. Because of this, there are some important factors that should be taken into account when going to market during this recession.   

• Know how you can save your customer time and money - There is a very strong renewed focus on measuring cost and how cost will affect the current IT budget within organizations. If your product does not have a strong argument for cost savings, you will most likely be pushed to the sidelines. When going into any marketing or sales pitch, be sure you know your customer and how you will help them save!

• Know your target audience - With the state of the economy, more organizations have restructured so that the CIO and CFO are more aligned. As IT is one of the largest expenses in an organization, the CFO is now looking to the CIO to find ways to cut costs and save more money. Furthermore, if the CIO is able to make a strong argument for certain solutions saving money, a purchase could potentially be made. Therefore, make sure your message speaks to both IT AND Finance. 
  

Follow these two rules and marketing for technology in 2009 can still present success!