Although technically we are not yet in a real recession (definitely not here in Slovakia) the global media has been spinning the story of the crisis on the financial markets in this direction. What this means is that most common folks are already freaked out and are probably lowering their spending. This results into less revenue for companies and adds to all the recession worries.

In large companies the expected lower revenues often lead to cuts in jobs and and lowering investments and the earlier a company cuts back, prepares for the worst – the higher is the chance for it to weather this storm. Suns CEO Jonathan Schwartz posted and interesting post on his blog where he cites an email he sent out to the upper management. He makes the case that the current situation actually plays into the hands of Sun as a lot of companies will try to leverage technology and automation to compensate for head count cuts and to increase efficiency. When is the best time for a company like Sun to approach customers and offer assistance with making processes leaner and more efficient using tech solutions?

I see a lot of people in corporate IT hanging down their heads, complaining about the lowering of head count, reducing investment while opportunities slip by. I think Schwartz has a point and it is not only tech companies like Sun that can leverage the current situation. Even internal IT departments, CIOs, should approach their business and offer help. More often then not assistance like this can make a big difference while making the IT department much more valuable.  In a crisis situation like this I think the most important thing is to keep your head up high and be proactive – it is "opportunity" season!