Companies Won't Neglect Tech Spending

A new report released by research company Gartner outlines technology's chances for influencing business development in the new year and states that as long as companies plan with caution, technology investment will remain a viable option for business growth in 2002.

The report examines several sectors of the tech industry--including security and privacy, outsourcing, and mobile technology--and how businesses may invest in each in order to recover from hardships faced in 2001.

Companies will want to see financial rewards quickly, no matter where they're spending money, said David McCoy, vice president and research director for Gartner.

"[Companies are] not going to spend anything on a long-term project. It's got to return immediately," he said.

Security is likely to be one area where companies will spend much of their money, McCoy said. But he worries that businesses, in response to the September 11 attacks, may be overzealous in their security spending at the expense of other areas of their technology budgets.

Some of the money companies spend toward security and privacy will be "siphoning off investments that could go elsewhere," he said.

Seeking Help Outside

Companies may also decide to venture into outsourcing, according to the Gartner report. Current economic conditions may force a company to re-evaluate the core of its business, McCoy said.

"If something is not part of your core, get rid of it," he said.

The Gartner report also notes technology trends that can help a company, regardless of the state of the economy.

Mobile technology can offer quick results, said Nick Jones, a research fellow and vice president at Gartner Europe.

"You can get short-term returns, but you have to be very cautious," he said.

This is why Jones thinks taking a low-risk approach and investing in hand-held devices that deal with mobile e-mail or mobile extensions for customer interaction may be a company's best bet.

One concern Jones has about mobile communication technology, however, is that some companies may be caught with a limited number of employees qualified to explain these technologies to new users. In fact, Jones claims that some companies will have to turn to outsourcing to implement new mobile technology.