Staff cuts, spending curbs among IT’s pressing issues, according to PTI
Through interviews with information technology (IT) executives and chief information officers (CIOs) for local governments across the country, the Washington-based Public Technology Institute (PTI) has identified several major issues facing IT departments in the next year. They include reductions in full-time staff and overall spending cuts as revenue sources continue to shrink in the ongoing recession.
PTI’s survey also found that IT departments will have to do more to prove the return on investment for IT projects. PTI recommends that IT departments lead the way for their local government’s energy management initiatives. On a positive note, the survey notes that with falling retirement account values, some IT staff members will have to postpone retirement, easing local governments’ struggle to retain their intellectual capital. “This list is not meant to be a catch-all of every issue facing local government IT departments,” PTI Executive Director Alan Shark said in a statement. “Rather, based on what PTI is hearing from technology executives, we believe that these are the common issues that local governments are struggling with and these issues should be on the radar screen of every executive.”
PTI will hold workshops to address the issues during its 2009 Technology Solutions & Innovations Conference & Expo, scheduled for May 12-14 in San Diego.
