2009 Network Plans and
Priorities State-of-the-Market Report
Good News
in a Challenging Economy
Webtorials Editorial/Analyst Division
Lead
analyst: Steven Taylor
Published and Posted January 2009
Abstract:
In November of 2008, as the impact of current economic conditions became
clear, the worldwide Webtorials community was invited to participate in a survey
concerning their companies’ economic outlook for 2009. While the User base was
the primary focus for the survey, additional perspectives were considered as
well.
There are two goals of this document.
First, it is intended to provide Enterprise network C-Levels, planners and
administrators with a baseline to compare their plans with those of their
colleagues. In particular, this should be helpful in obtaining approval for
additional funding as needed. Secondly, it is intended to help reinforce methods
by which networking technology can be used to redefine business processes to
increase/preserve profitability.
The key findings of this analysis
are:
 |
While there will be a negative
impact on 2009 telecommunications budgets, this impact is not expected to be
severe, and over one-third of the companies expect no impact or some degree
of increased funding. Overall, a quantitative index for Users showed the
anticipated impact to be halfway between “No Impact” and a “Moderate
Negative Impact.” |
|
|
Companies will be dependent on
telecommunications more than ever, but there will be little additional
funding (or, overall, a decrease in funding) to support both ongoing and new
initiatives. |
|
|
Funding for telecommunications
services and staff salaries will be the least affected of the areas about
which the respondents were queried. These two subcategories will, for all
practical purposes, see no significant change.
|
The bottom line from the
above-mentioned trends is that the effective use of telecommunications networks
will not only be a key component in surviving the current economic conditions,
but effective use can actually allow a company to thrive in these conditions.
This is not unlike prior, less
severe, economic downturns over the past thirty years. Although the exact level
of computing and networking has evolved steadily over the years, the
business-critical nature of the network has continued to escalate exponentially.
Consequently, the network will play an absolutely critical role, enabling the
“impossible dream” of simultaneously enhancing existing services, enabling
budget cuts in other areas (such as travel), and containing costs.
Acknowledgment: Please note that this
State-of-the Market Report is made
possible in part due to the support of
XO Communications.
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