How to survive and succeed in a crisis

Oleg Cheremnykh.
Consultant in Business Administration.

The global economic crisis has put the Russian IT companies in a difficult position. According to various estimates, sales of IT products and services in 2009 will decrease by 30-40%. Under these conditions, the most important issue that must ask themselves the owners and managers of Russian companies, is a sacramental, ... What should be done to at least stay afloat, but, as maximum, to extract maximum benefit from the crisis (as we know, any crisis - is not only dangerous, but still possible)?.

To get the correct answer to this question, you must first understand what caused such a sharp decline in demand for IT products and services from corporate clients ( in this article, I will consider only the issues of IT companies, with corporate customers).

First, of course,. liquidity crisis. or at least s. nachitelnymi liquidity problems. Which in varying degrees, have nearly all Russian companies. Dr..

Pre-crisis situation, these inefficiencies ... That's why periodic crises are sometimes called ...

Second, the. high-risk investments in the implementation of IT projects. I've seen the statistics, according to which the financial audit of implemented IT projects turned out that 40-50 % of corporate IT projects financially unprofitable. It seems to be true. In the pre-crisis abundance of this very few people thought, in terms of the financial crisis is thinking about it very seriously.

And, finally,. most (if not the vast majority ) owners and managers of Russian companies do not understand how to invest in the purchase of IT products and services. (and this is an investment that must be financially profitable ) n. omogut them to successfully overcome the economic crisis. In other words, they are considering investment in IT products and services as a luxury, inadmissible in a crisis, rather than the urgent need. With all its consequences - in the form of a sharp decline in IT budgets.

It is obvious that in order to survive and thrive in times of crisis, the Russian IT companies with these factors need to do something. To do this:.

a. ...

2. Prove the cost-effectiveness of investment in IT products and services ( which would require the use of appropriate financial models ).

3. Lucidly explain how the investment in the acquisition of IT products and services to help customers successfully overcome the economic crisis and why these investments should be prioritized.

And, in fact, in reverse order ( 3-2-1, that is). In other words, you must ( a) identify the objective need of IT products and services, and ( b) cause the client an irresistible urge to satisfy this desire ( even at the expense of some other investment).

Fortunately, there is a need for an objective. This need for the most effective products and services for. knowledge Management.

Indeed, in order to survive and thrive in times of crisis, every company must ( a) as to avoid hazards, and (b ) to maximize the opportunities offered by the crisis. And for this you must know about them. Then develop and implement plans to avoid dangers and opportunities ( including appropriate incentives, monitoring and adaptation). All this, of course, requires a highly efficient system of corporate knowledge.

For the creation and development which, in turn, requires a ... Dr.. (and, of course, their suppliers). It's just an objective reality.

In this case it is clear that knowledge management is an essential function for crisis management, before do anything, you need to collect and analyze relevant knowledge (otherwise it is not no good end ).

One proof of this assertion is the success of the British software company Autonomy - the largest by market capitalization of UK software company that offers just the software for managing enterprise knowledge. During the last quarter of 2008, which was a disaster for most disastrously high-tech companies, Autonomy revenue increased by 26% over the same period the previous year, reaching $ 145 million. Net income more than doubled and amounted to $ 51 million.

In order to use this objective need to promote their products and / or services, IT organizations need to:.

a. To show how the products and services help customers create, or improve the knowledge management system (T. e. What role these products and services play in this system ).

2. To form around this show a unique value proposition (DRM ) for a potential client.

3. ...

4. Ensure the implementation of the DRM that is likely to require a radical increase in efficiency.

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