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Archer’s Walter: Platforms Trump Point Products

Listen to David Walter discuss the benefits of using platforms instead of point products for GRC initiatives:

It seems that everyone is talking about cost-cutting initiatives. Whether the conversation is personal or business, there’s plenty of discussion about dealing with uncertainty and how to simply do more with less. You are bound to read stories about how it is “cool” to be thrifty in the newspaper or see a “Top Ten Ways to Save” piece on your favorite web site or TV news show. Even the airwaves on Twitter are overloaded with comments on the topic.

But is all cost cutting good? Is it strategic? And at what point are cost reductions short sighted? I hear many veteran business professionals talk about how the smartest companies take market share during a downturn. The prescription they often use is to make the right decisions, employ long-term thinking and often, simply be aggressive.

I talk almost daily with clients and partners of Archer Technologies, as well as my peers in the industry, about the importance of strategic thinking when evaluating IT budgets. As a former CFO for a publicly traded company and in my current role as senior product manager and client consultant, I like to think I have a dual qualification and can see both sides. Increasingly — and not surprisingly — I’m asked about return on investment (ROI) metrics for certain tools and technologies. The conversation then typically migrates to the issue of minimizing reliance on disparate point solutions and the importance of focusing budget dollars on flexible platform technologies that can address multiple business objectives.

One reason CFOs struggle with IT budgets is that CIOs tend to “collect” specific, niche tools when times are good. The challenging year of 2009 is not the time for an overabundance of tools that IT isn’t fully utilizing. Consolidating these tools can be a daunting task for the CIO: While saving money is important, companies need to have the proper technologies to achieve, if not exceed, their business objectives.

I certainly don’t have all the answers, so please let me know your thoughts on how the CIO and CFO can work better together to address IT budget constraints.

–David Walter, Director of GRC Product Development, Archer Technologies.

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