IT strategy - Say no to those in-the-know.

(From Financial Director)

Byline: Tom Berry.

Here is a warning to all finance directors: the latest cutting-edge thinking about corporate IT strategy is going to come as a shock.

Gartner, the IT industry's largest analyst, has kicked off the year by publishing a report on the top 10 resolutions chief information officers should adhere to in 2004. According to the literature, Gartner's report is designed to "help CIOs drive IT innovation while maintaining the cost and efficiency savings made in 2003". Among such common sense advice as "stay in direct touch with key technological developments" and "refresh hardware bought before 2000", Gartner drops a bombshell. Its final point - "plan to overspend your budget" - seems ludicrous given that many businesses face an uncertain future or are fighting for survival.

Encouraging CIOs to ignore budget constraints is not going to do wonders for intracompany relations either. One FD horrified by Gartner's advice is John Maguire, CFO at FTSE-250 telecoms company Thus. "I assumed it was an April Fool's joke. Exceed your budget? What's that all about? CIOs have to deploy resources to boost revenue, reduce costs and improve cash flow - and that's it," he says.

For FDs like Maguire, Gartner's advice is dangerous because it suggests that CIOs should drive a wedge between themselves and the rest of the business to take control over their own destiny, with scant regard for financial controls.

John Mahoney, former CIO and vice-president of research at Gartner, and author of the report, says this is not exactly the case but does urge CIOs to change the way they make investment decisions. "The dilemma at the heart of what CIOs are going to have to do this year is cut costs and create value at the same time. Yes, they need to continue dealing with cost pressures but they also need to be more ambitious about the extent to which they can positively use IT to deliver business benefits," he says.