According to early statistics in a new Info-Tech Research Group study, more than 80% of IT departments are taking action to cut and monitor spending. In light of these results, the research firm urges overly optimistic IT leaders who haven't been hit by budget and staffing cuts yet to start preparing now. Not many IT managers are in the room when financial decisions are being made preventing them from seeing some of the signs leading up to cut backs.

"The orders to start cutting back resources may come sooner than some think," Andy Woyzbun, Lead Analyst with Info-Tech Research Group warns. "In uncertain times, having a strategic plan ready is the best thing IT leaders can do for their departments. Consider it something of a bomb shelter; you want to be prepared for the first blast."

Statistics from the Info-Tech study show that IT leaders are doing everything they can to avoid laying off staff. Currently only 13% of respondents have resorted to staff cuts while 65% are cutting back on discretionary spending and postponing or cancelling projects. 48% are reducing their contracting and consulting budgets and 40% have been taking the time to renegotiate vendor agreements to make them more affordable.

"The last thing managers want to do is to lay-off workers," Woyzbun states. "Going through lay-offs is a tough pill to swallow for any team, but with 56% of IT departments currently in a hiring freeze the thought has to be in the back of their minds."

It's inevitable that cutbacks will need to be made in 2009. To aid organizations in preparing for these cutbacks Info-Tech Research Group has introduced MeasureIT, an interactive peer benchmarking tool that identifies excessive or inadequate spending relative to a self-defined peer group.

"Knowing where excess resources are being spent is the dream of every IT Manager who is forced to make cuts and spend smarter. They now have access to a tool that makes preparing for changes a much less daunting and hopefully less cut-throat task," Woyzbun concluded.