• Overall compensation for IT professionals is down for the first time since the dot-com bubble
• Hiring demand is the lowest that we have seen it in the 15 plus years that we have conducted this study
• Companies are reducing the number of IT contractors that they using
• Fringe benefits are being reduced by companies
• Supply of IT professionals is at a very high level due to lay-offs, deferred retirements, and individuals trying to re-enter the IT job market because they can not find other jobs or have found they can not stay retired with the decrease in value of their retirement accounts.

Information productivity analysis looks at how effectively corporations manage information. In effect, it identifies management value-added. This metric allows managers to identify situations in which information systems exerts its greatest leverage and automating only those business processes that are directly linked to improvements in profits.

1.       Do not have a disaster recovery and business continuity plan integrated with a backup/archiving program.

2.       Ignore warning signs

3.       Do not document changes

4.       Do not use logging processes

5.       Do not install updates

6.       Save money by not purchasing upgrades

7.       Do not manage passwords well

8.       Never say no to anyone

9.       Never say yes to anyone

10.   Do not train a replacement

You can get more by getting the Internet and Information Technology Position Descriptions Handiguide - 2009 version.

(CIO Insight) What is the essence of the CIOs role? It is an important question because the definition of the CIO is morphing and fracturing. Our surveys say fewer than half of CIOs report to CEOs while more report to CFOs. Does that mean the CIO role has been downgraded, or that Sarbanes-Oxley is changing the CFOs role? In our April 2007 CIO Role survey, three quarters of CIOs say helping set their companys strategy will be one of their most important responsibilities in the future, yet just one-third say their role is creating business strategy.

Defining the CIOs role has never been simple.

• The Cyclical CIO When a CEO believes the IT organization needs a shakeup, he or she hires a CIO who thrives on radical visions and changes. When the shakeup is over, out goes the visionary and in comes a chief information offier with a more operational bent. Repeat ad infinitum
• The Band-Aid CIO Sometimes job No. 1 is fixing what your predecessor broke. Couldn't deliver projects on time? Get a project manager. IT out of alignment? Put in someone with more business experience.
• The Rotational CIO Some companies believe potential CEOs need to be well rounded. The CIO job can be just a stop on the Grand Tour.
• The Multitasking CIO CIOs frequently run other functions besides IT, such as strategy, administration and e-commerce. What a mish-mash. Try making a Myers Briggs-style categorization scheme out of this and you'll wind up with scores of possible roles.

The top ten concerns are:

• Budgets - Budgets have never been tighter. Since the dot com bubble burst  where IT budgets were pared to the bone, organizations are striving to keep a really tight control over them, even though they still need innovative IT to keep ahead of the competition. Smart CIOs are seeing savings through standardization of the IT infrastructure so new systems can be financed without increasing budgets.
• Staffing - People are an organization's most valuable asset. For CIO they are not only the most valuable, they are causing the most headaches as well. Recruiting, managing and training staff are the most pressing concerns for CIOs
• Security - Internal and external threats are on the increase, especially as enterprises continue to increase the growth of mobile and wireless based applications.  Keeping the business operating in the face of threats, whether against the systems themselves, or against the business and the environment are a major component of CIO's role.
• Compliance - Security and compliance work together for CIOs as many governance and compliance regulations were spawned from risk management and directly affect security. For many companies regulatory compliance is now part of everything they do. This has allowed the CIO to understand exactly what resources and processes an organization has and to increase efficiency and throughput as a result.
• Resource Management - Managing time and resources are a major concern for CIOs.  Enterprise management now demands more efficient working. CIO now are now using more of their time and resources they used to spend on legacy maintenance on more produce to manage critically short supplies of resources.
• Infrastructure - Updating technology infrastructures and keeping the backbone of an organization's IT up to date is another top concern for CIOs..
• Business Alignment - Keeping IT strategy in line with business strategy is something at which CIOs have become masters but it is still one of the areas that causes a lot of work and is resource heavy.
• Managing Users - CIOs must prioritize the needs of their users and customers. Dealing with users while improving the quality of service for users is a constant for all IT departments.   More CIOs are putting metrics in place to see just how well they are doing. Excellent customer service and cost effectiveness in driving the business forward are the two overlying themes for many businesses. The aim is to lift the bar on customer service, on cost effectiveness and on the capabilities of service offerings and people.
• Managing Change - The fast moving pace of technological innovation means change is a guaranteed part of the CIO's role. But the way they manage its effect on the business is more critical. Arguably, the most significant management issue that CIOs have to face this year is change management - business process change, changes in organizational cultures and how they affect people are very high on the CIO's agenda.
• Organizational Politics - To manage change and integration effectively, CIOs need the support of their senior management team. The success of change management programs and the contribution IT can make to those depend heavily on the support and drive of senior managers. If the CIO lines of report - CEO, CFO or COO -understand the power of transformational IT investment and if a CIO can educate and communicate what is possible, IT should be a key enabler for business and process change. Many companies are going through massive change and integration programs, all of which need board support to succeed.

Overall, according to Janco's survey of college recruiters, employers plan to hire fewer college graduates in 2008-09 than they did in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

The lower demand for new graduates is a result of uncertian business conditions.  When this will turn around is anyone's guess.

A disaster recovery plan is a comprehensive statement of consistent actions to be taken before, during and after a disaster. The plan should be documented and tested to ensure the continuity of operations and availability of critical resources in the event of a disaster.
The primary objective of disaster recovery planning is to protect the enterprise in the event that all or part of its operations and/or Information Technology fuction are rendered unusable. Preparedness is the key. The planning process should minimize the disruption of operations and ensure some level of organizational stability and an orderly recovery after a disaster.

Other objectives of disaster recovery planning include:

• Providing a sense of security
• Minimizing risk of delays
• Guaranteeing the reliability of standby systems
• Providing a standard for testing the plan
• Minimizing decision-making during a disaster