For tech this recession will be shallower than the last one

George Colony of Forrester has posted a great analysis of why this recession will be different for tech than the last one 2001-03.  This is important to remember as the wave of layoffs continues.

To dramatically simplify his argument the reasons are:

  1. After 2000 there was fat everywhere in tech – but enterprises have become much more disciplined since then
  2. Tech has become much more pervasive and central to strategy, making it more difficult to cut – particularly as customers now also live on tech
  3. There are now burning tech issues that need addressing (virtualisation, social computing, mobile, green IT and SOA) – this wasn’t the case last time round

The full post is well worth a read, but the message is clear, we can expect tough times but predictions of armagedon should be treated with care.

Note that this is about tech rather than media.

  • http://www.creativeagencysecrets.com/ Rebecca Caroe

    Nic

    I think that some of that ‘positive spin’ on the Tech world in recession may well spill over into the creative agency sector – particularly digital.

    Many brands are re-working budgets in order to put more stuff online and save dollars from above the line and direct mail while continuing activity online and in mobile.

    However, where I think a lot of B2C brands will suffer is that they haven’t invested in gathering individual, addressable databases of their customers and prospects. This will hamper many efforts.

    Rebecca

  • http://www.creativeagencysecrets.com/ Rebecca Caroe

    Nic

    I think that some of that ‘positive spin’ on the Tech world in recession may well spill over into the creative agency sector – particularly digital.

    Many brands are re-working budgets in order to put more stuff online and save dollars from above the line and direct mail while continuing activity online and in mobile.

    However, where I think a lot of B2C brands will suffer is that they haven’t invested in gathering individual, addressable databases of their customers and prospects. This will hamper many efforts.

    Rebecca

Nic Brisbourne
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