Businesses 'must invest in flexible IT set up'

With technology now an essential part of judging a company's competitiveness, managers must invest in and maintain an adaptable IT set up, according to experts.

Computer services and products company Fujitsu published research this week which found that of the 200 top professionals surveyed, 61 per cent felt that their IT infrastructure will have to be more flexible in order to cope with present economic conditions.

Chris Bone, enterprise products and solutions specialist at Fujitsu, said that when entering a new market, the first thing companies tend to think about is what IT infrastructure they need, because it has become the fundamental element of business success.

Mr Bone explained that if a company's infrastructure is "not agile enough" to provide any new service it will have a "double impact" on their business, because their IT setup will be costing them more than it should and they will not be able to get the most from the new market they have entered.

"If you have a new venture or a new way of doing business, getting that to market quickly enough so you steal a march on the competition is critical," said Mr Bone.