IT managers want a more strategic role

Too much time is spent on procurement, says survey

Purchasing hardware is taking up too much of IT directors' time

IT managers feel they spend too much time on procurement and administration, leaving them unable to do their jobs properly, according to research by vendor theitindex.co.uk.

In the survey of 250 IT managers, nearly 20 per cent of respondents' time was spent on procurement, and another 20 per cent on administration.

Fifty per cent of IT managers said price and 79 per cent said availability of products were of high importance, and that much of their procurement time was spent conducting activity to that end.

'We have found that the majority of IT managers spend an average of one day a week ringing round and conducting manual comparisons. This is both inefficient and costly and often does not secure the best priced product within the fastest time,' said Peter Robbins, managing director of Probrand, owners of theitindex.co.uk.

IT managers said they would rather have procurement handled more efficiently, and take a more strategic role in the company.