Unless you have turned straight to the opinion page, you will have noticed that much of this week’s Computing is dedicated to our annual awards evening.

The extravagant bash, held last week at the Battersea Park Events Arena in London, celebrated the outstanding projects and professionals in UK IT.

As ever, the Computing Awards show that the industry has much to be proud of, from innovative public sector projects to leading-edge private sector implementations.

Such progress, therefore, makes it disheartening to hear Gartner’s suggestion that chief information officers (CIOs) should create a backup IT budget for 2008.

The analyst says technology leaders should produce a contingency budget in case of a business slowdown.

In a time of credit crunches and sub-prime mortgages crises, such advice might seem farsighted.

But is there any IT director that does not already work with a contingency?

Surely every technology leader recognises that deadlines can be missed, projects can run over budget and the economic climate can turn sour?

It would appear not, with Gartner suggesting CIOs should target a decrease in IT spending of at least 10 per cent before the finance director makes his or her own cuts.

Ten per cent is quite a large amount ­ is the economy already in such precarious shape?

While a bit of preparation is all well and good, talk of such cuts could produce a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The economy is not in recession, but if we keep talking about a downturn, we could make it happen.

So how about a bit of optimism? Instead of talk about cutting projects, prepare for innovation within your existing budget.

Make sure the leading-edge mobility, integration and green computing projects are prioritised, rather than resource refresh initiatives.

A recent survey by the European Commission found that Europe’s research and development spending has been declining since 2000, standing at just 1.9 per cent of GDP ­and almost half the rate devoted to research investment in China.

Do not let your IT department become part of the downward trend. And if your company’s finance director wants to cut your budget, fight for the innovative projects with all your might.

The winners of the Computing Awards show that technology leaders have a duty to strive for excellence, not just mediocrity.

What do you think? Read my blog at:
http://knowledge.computing.co.uk