Survey: Terrorist Attacks Alter IT Practices

Robert Leach, CIO of Stora Enso North America, should have been in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Thursday for an all-day meeting with the European counterparts of his Helsinki, Finland, parent company, forest-products producer Stora Enso Oyj. Though the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last week kept him in the United States, Leach attended the eight-hour meeting through IP-based teleconferencing facilities at the $2.4 billion North American unit's headquarters in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

Leach believes teleconferencing will be used more as managers, workers, and their employers restrict air travel as a result of the terrorist attacks and seek ways of using time more productively than standing in airport lines. Indeed, a survey conducted by InformationWeek Research on Tuesday and Wednesday reveals that more than two-thirds of 150 IT managers questioned say the most severe impact of the attacks was lost productivity, followed by travel restrictions for 57%, and distraught IT staff for 56%. "People don't want to go on seminars; they just don't want to travel in general," says Winthrop Winch, a systems program leader at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Among other findings of the survey:

- Three of 10 respondents see a shift in IT priorities as a result of the attacks. Security has become the most critical issue for many companies, with 61% reassessing overall security measures, 57% evaluating network security, and 50% evaluating the security of their people and facilities. "I've given a lot of thought since the World Trade Center disaster about having multiple avenues of backups," says Barbara Martensen, senior VP and global information officer for the $3 billion computer marketing unit of Phoenix distributor Avnet Inc. "We're thinking differently about it now."

- Few companies have stopped or suspended IT projects because of the attacks, though one-quarter continue to assess its impact and say it's too soon to know. In addition, three-quarters of the respondents believe it's too soon to tell what impact the continued turmoil will have on hiring practices. "Everyone is a little cautious," says Dede Ramoneda, VP of IT systems delivery at Progress Energy Inc. in Raleigh, N.C. "We're not sure what's coming next. We haven't stopped anything or changed direction."

- Fewer than one of five managers expect IT budgets to decrease as a result of the attacks and ensuing economic turmoil, while nearly three-quarters believe budgets will remain stable. Many companies, however, remain optimistic about IT budgets for 2002. More than a third of companies expect 2002 IT budgets to increase from 2001 levels.