Parity show improving IT efficiency tops the priority list for IT decision makers in 2006.

In November 2005, Forrester surveyed 708 technology decision-makers in North American and European enterprises.

Results from this survey indicate that enterprises expect to increase their IT budgets by 3.2%, down from a 3.9% planned increase and new IT investment will fall from 24% to 20%. The same survey showed the public sector expecting spending growth to tumble. The biggest spend within the IT budget was on staffing, on average taking around 38% of the total.

The biggest priority on IT decision makers’ minds for 2006 appeared to be improving IT efficiency. Sixty percent of firms reported that increased business performance will be among their major goals for this year. Around 42% of firms plan to adopt standard metrics such as the Capability Maturity Model, IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL - www.parity.net/training/course?ICTIM ) or the Balanced Scorecard (www.parity.net/training/course?dmbbs ).

The current emphasis on improving IT efficiency is of no surprise to Parity who specialise in helping companies to acquire the skills necessary to do this. “With businesses increasingly reliant on IT, there are mounting demands for companies to improve their business processes through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to provide the levels of service needed for the business to function and deliver competitive advantage” says Ebi Zadeh, Managing Director, Parity Training.

Parity Training has seen an increase in the number of people wanting skills training in IT Service Management which is directly based on the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practice guidelines and accredited by the Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) with a linked qualification programme.

IT Service Management is the key to achieving the standard metrics sought by IT professionals, enabling IT decision makers to deliver reliable, cost effective, quality service to their users for the benefit of the business.

For more information see ITIL based IT Service Management Skills (http://www.parity.net/Training/Skills/ServiceManagement/default.asp?choice=2 )

Editorial notes:

About Parity:
Parity, uniquely for its size, offers a full range of IT services including;

Business process consultancy
Change management training
Management training
Technology training
IT Service Management
Development and management of complex IT systems
Oracle and Microsoft technology and application skills
Permanent and temporary IT staff
Resource process outsourcing

Major companies include:

Alcatel, Allianz, AT&T, British American Tobacco, CISCO, Department for Education & Skills, Department for Work & Pensions, Glaxo Smith Kline, HBOS, Hewlett Packard, HM Revenue & Customs, HSBC, IBM, ICI, Ministry of Defence, NASA, Connecting for Health at the NHS, O2, Perot Systems, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Mail, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, The Cabinet Office, The Meterological Office, and T-Systems.

Contact details:

For more information on Parity, visit http://www.parity.net or by contacting Gina Cannon (g.cannon@parity.net)

Contact Information

Michael Hanna

R&D

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