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Last issue, we did a cover story asking if the recovery is in sight. In less than three weeks, most of us are unanimous about the answer: yes. While the Diwali sales of digital products give you an indicationdont forget, it is this session last year, which accelerated the cautious market to a definite slowdownthat things are looking brighter, the assertion by many tech companies that they have a better visibility now of the future only strengthens that feeling. The spate of big ticket mergers also are a definite indication that things are changing for better.

Good times are good news for all. But it is better for some. Typically, every slowdown sees readjustments and emergence of a few winners, and fall of a few established players. And also emergence of some new business models.

When I say this, what I have in mind, of course, is the tech industry. But I guess it is equally true for technology users. Here is how.

Typically, recessionary phases means a few definite steps: defer decisions on new investments, hold back existing investments, if the situation gets even worse; divert attention to minimize cost in all operations including IT; and a more recent phenomenon: use IT to find out where cost can be saved and do that. Ironic it may sound. But the business role of CIOs that CIOs themselves were bragging about, was never realized by the CFOs; and CEOs before the slowdown hit them on the face. I am glad to say, many CIOs have lived up to the expectations and have proved that yes, when it comes to making a business impact, they can take the challenge and deliver. We have heard the acknowledgement and appreciation from many CEOsquite a few of them from SMBsabout the role IT played in managing the slowdown.

Shyamanuja Das

So far, so good.

But if the slowdown is really over and I guess it is, like the business, the CIO has to switch from the slowdown mode to the growth mode. A good CIO (as a good business) would retain all the good learning and efficient practices while getting back to the growth-targeted investments. In a way, if India was using IT too much for growth, the slowdown was a reminder that IT could be used to increase efficiency too. After all, the developed markets have used IT almost only for that. But growth strategies require different kind of investments, moving again on the planned new projects, starting with the stalled projects, if any and finally using IT to differentiate, something that the slowdown had almost taken out of the CIOs agenda.

Some of the permanent virtues that this slowdown has taught us are energy efficiency (green for business), variabilization of cost through different means such as outsourcing and SaaS, the belief that travel is not always necessary for a meeting, and the belief that IT can drive efficiency.

But equally importantly, there are new paradigms that the slowdown has created, and they must be grabbed.

The increasing desire of technology companies to get into services is one trend this slowdown has most definitely induced. That brings back a very old question which the CIOs must start asking themselves now: is the old end-to-end better (benefits: complete delegation of responsibility, lesser complexity; cost: more vendor dependency) or should they continue with their pure play services partners?

There are certain solutions that have fundamentally changed. Web, video, and social networking today have a heady mix. Is it something that CIOs should proactively look at? Vendor consolidation has changed support propositions for ever. Will it impact the business?

A recovery is good news. But that would be diluted if we do not switch from the slowdown mode in time. Not too early. Not too late.

The author is Editor of Dataquest. shyamanujad@cybermedia.co.in

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