Marketing versus IT spending
Marketing
Update: We have had so much interest in this topic, that we are releasing an entire report on it on June 1, 2005, titled "Sizing US Marketing." Look for it at the Blackfriars eStore.
A couple of articles hit over the weekend that I found interesting. One, from eMarketer, noted that there are a variety of analyst estimates for the rise in IT spending this year, ranging from 2.5% to 8%. Second, George Colony, CEO of Forrester, was interviewed by the New York Times and cited a similar number of 7-8% (nice interview, George).
So what? Compare those numbers with our data from our January 2005 survey of senior executives about marketing budgets, which are going up 20% this year. Which business sector -- IT or marketing -- do you think will see more change this year? If nothing else, that data should tell you why Blackfriars is in marketing consulting, training, and research and not in IT.
Oh, one other thing. in his interview, George believes that one of the three challenges that will face Google is that Google operates in an HTML, page-oriented world. Clearly he hasn't seen some of the new Google services like Google Maps and Google Suggest. And Google Desktop certainly puts the company squarely in the realm of Internet-enabled software, not just Web sites. All of those services are decidedly interactive and deliver rich content in exactly what Forrester calls X-Internet style. In fact, I'd argue that Google is exactly the type of company that is bringing X Internet to mainstream users.
Bottom line: despite George's three challenges, Google demonstrates a clearer understanding of modern issues like user interface, tyranny of too much, and security than old-guard software firms like Microsoft ever did. Google is going to be an innovating force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Update: We have had so much interest in this topic, that we are releasing an entire report on it on June 1, 2005, titled "Sizing US Marketing." Look for it at the Blackfriars eStore.
A couple of articles hit over the weekend that I found interesting. One, from eMarketer, noted that there are a variety of analyst estimates for the rise in IT spending this year, ranging from 2.5% to 8%. Second, George Colony, CEO of Forrester, was interviewed by the New York Times and cited a similar number of 7-8% (nice interview, George).
So what? Compare those numbers with our data from our January 2005 survey of senior executives about marketing budgets, which are going up 20% this year. Which business sector -- IT or marketing -- do you think will see more change this year? If nothing else, that data should tell you why Blackfriars is in marketing consulting, training, and research and not in IT.
Oh, one other thing. in his interview, George believes that one of the three challenges that will face Google is that Google operates in an HTML, page-oriented world. Clearly he hasn't seen some of the new Google services like Google Maps and Google Suggest. And Google Desktop certainly puts the company squarely in the realm of Internet-enabled software, not just Web sites. All of those services are decidedly interactive and deliver rich content in exactly what Forrester calls X-Internet style. In fact, I'd argue that Google is exactly the type of company that is bringing X Internet to mainstream users.
Bottom line: despite George's three challenges, Google demonstrates a clearer understanding of modern issues like user interface, tyranny of too much, and security than old-guard software firms like Microsoft ever did. Google is going to be an innovating force to be reckoned with for years to come.
posted by Carl Howe at
9:01 AM
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