Typically, IT practices between enterprises differ from one another depending on number of employees, size of IT staff, enterprise revenue, and size of IT budget. However, when a real crisis hits, such as a severe recession, IT departments react largely the same way regardless of size.
This research note examines the disparities (or lack thereof) among differently-sized IT departments in relation to cost reduction activity. Issues covered include:
- Enterprise employee counts as predictors of cost management focus.
- Revenue and budget numbers as predictors of cost management behavior.
- Recommendations for response: following the crowd or heading off in another direction.
While peer benchmarks are helpful, understanding who a peer really is should be the first step when conducting an analysis. When it comes to cost reduction, however, an enterprise's relative size doesn't seem to matter much at all.