European firms still see IT as an activity for geeks that should be separated from the rest of the business, according to a report from Computer Sciences Corp (CSC), the El Segundo, California IT services firm. Managers across Europe are still afraid of the geeks having too much influence, says Critical Issues of Information Systems Management Study. The proof of this is clear in the responses of Europe’s technical executives to the issue of cutting IT costs. In Europe this has not been displaced from the top five in seven years. In the US, it has never appeared in the top five.
There was a change at the top, as knowledge management took over from e-commerce as the most important challenge for European IT executives. Knowledge management, or organizing and utilizing data jumped from fifth place in 1998 to first. Issues which fell in perceived importance included integrating systems and cutting IT costs, while Y2K and the euro didn’t even feature in the top 10.
The report noted that firms in Europe were less enthusiastic than their US and Australasian counterparts about establishing an e-commerce strategy. The European execs, the report said drily, seemed to think that as long as they were connecting with their suppliers and customers electronically, they did not need a defined e-commerce business plan.
