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IT job reductions likely in 2009

by on21 July 2008

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Reports released late last week are indicating that IT managers are expecting to have to cut their IT staff in 2009. In addition to the staff cuts, it is likely that consultants, professional services, and hardware investment will also be non-existent during 2009.

CIOs are blaming the economy as being the biggest contributing factor, along with internal belt tightening within their companies. The cutbacks will be difficult, as many IT shops have enjoyed a bigger spending cycle during 2008 and while some cuts are expected for the rest of 2008, projects that are already in progress are expected to be completed.

The news could not be worse for IT contractors and hardware vendors who would looking for a boom in 2009 after a gradual ramp-up in 2008. New technologies that were scheduled for roll out in 2009 in many IT organizations, including moves to server virtualization and cloud computing, will likely be put on hold.

In fact, many CIOs are suggesting that hardware spending could be cut to the point that they might try to squeeze an extra year out of servers, desktops, and laptops that were already slated for replacement in 2009.

One area that certainly is troubling is in the desktop operating system area. The majority of IT shops have already passed on Windows Vista rollouts within their environment, and with slated reduced spending in 2009, it means that Windows XP in many cases will have to go another year before companies will be able to find the funding to move to Windows 7 once it is officially announced and released.

Last modified on 21 July 2008
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