The last time we sweated through an economy as harsh as today's environment--back around 2002--the technology market looked very different.
CIO's, fresh off a multiyear technology-buying spree fueled by the dotcom boom, were trying to justify their spending in an uncertain post-9/11 economy. Sure, the economy stunk. But CIO's could negotiate better deals thanks to a competitive vendor landscape.
Today, CIO's have mostly mastered the case for ROI but are under new pressure to come up with ways IT can generate revenue for their companies. And the economy stinks. Again.
But you're wrong if you think a potential recession, combined with big-time consolidation in the software market, has stripped CIO's of all bargaining power. Now is the right time to push technology vendors for a better deal than the one you have, even if you've recently signed contracts, say CIO's and their heavy-hitter negotiators.
Source: CIO, http://cio.com