IT managers spend too much time buying

IT managers feel they spend too much time on buying and administration, and not enough doing the rest of their jobs, according to research from the IT Index.

The 250 IT managers who responded to the survey said they spend 19 per cent of their time on procurement, with another 21 per cent on administrative tasks.

"We have found that the majority of IT managers spend an average of one day a week ringing round and conducting manual comparisons," said Peter Robbins, managing director of Probrand, the company which runs theitindex.co.uk portal. "Often, they will then approach an existing contracted supplier and negotiate what they believe is the best deal based on the loose intelligence they have gathered."

"This is both inefficient and costly and often does not secure the best priced product within the fastest time. This is why 40 per cent of managers' time is expended on procurement and administration," he added.

Robbins said IT managers need to find a more efficient, best practice approach to procurement, in order to save time, money and better implement business strategies. Over half of the respondents said that price was of high importance when buying IT.

"It is readily agreed that IT should form an integral part of the modern business strategy," Robbins said. "But how are IT managers expected to conduct the necessary activities to leverage IT's importance on the corporate agenda when they are restricted by time expended on procurement and administration? A best practice approach to procurement would undoubtedly unlock the true potential of an IT managers role and deliver best value IT at the same time."

The survey also found that 75 per cent of respondents work between 36 and 40 hours a week, and that IT managers spend 22 per cent of their time on problems solving, 16 per cent on meetings, 13 per cent on planning and nine per cent on reporting.

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