Chief information officers (CIOs) face a balancing act next year to make the most of their IT investments, according to analyst Gartner.

The company says that in 2006 CIOs must adopt new technologies, get their core IT systems organised and their spending under control, to move beyond simply assuring delivery.

‘IT budgets will essentially remain constrained, with modest three per cent increases, but the fairly unpredictable economy will bring a return to the fear of sudden shocks,’ said Gartner research fellow Mark Raskino. ‘There is also increased excitement around IT and its ability to drive business change.

‘So, to make spending on new technologies possible, you have to have systems that can be changed. But many businesses are saddled with deep legacy problems.’

Raskino predicts that mature web-based technologies and service-oriented architectures will form the basis of innovative business systems in 2006, replacing inflexible legacy systems left over from incomplete merger and acquisition activity.

Gartner forecasts a two-year period for IT investments to come to fruition, as businesses realise that maintaining ageing systems damages competitiveness.

John Mahoney, Gartner chief of IT management research, said: ‘CIOs should understand how their IT vision can make a true business contribution.’

Gartner’s Top 10 CIO New Year resolutions

1 Educate your business about the second internet revolution, including web-based applications

2 Establish which systems need not be migrated, upgraded or replaced

3 Aim to deliver major innovative projects by 2008

4 Communicate crucial projects and strategy changes to your team and board

5 Start a significant software-as-a-service implementation as a trial and education exercise

6 Organise outstanding issues relating to legacy, merger and acquisition-related IT systems

7 Review IT capitalisation with chief financial officer

8 Brand IT as a key service or function in the business

9 Refresh meetings with the chief executive

10 Check out some 2006 hot technologies, particularly related to delivering IT with a service-oriented architecture.