(NAPSA)—You can learn the truth about a few urban legends that have been circulating on and off the Internet for ages. Think back to the Y2K bug andall the Planned Investment Changesin Selected Technologies hype around global computerfail- ures that would occur at the stroke of midnight. You have probably heard other stories about technology, whether they are fact, fiction or something in between. Recent survey find- Ty) PK ings debunk several popular tech- nology myths. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Microsoft among 1,200 informa- tion technology professionals in small to large organizations in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan, revealed some surprising information about what impact the economy is having on the tech industry and the decisions that companiesare really making. 1. MYTH: In the current economy, no oneis investing in information technology. REALITY: Not true. Even in a down economy, 98 percent of tech- nology decision-makers are gener- ally maintaining or increasing their planned investment in infra- structure technologies to support their business. “Security is a top priority for NuStar, requiring ongoing attention and investment,” said Robert Amos, manager of infrastructure systems at NuStar Energy. “Using Microsoft identity and security solutions, NuStar has enhanced network security by defending computers more thoroughly, realized U.S. $200,000 annually in IT efficiencies, and reduced desktop down- time by 450 hours annually.” 2. MYTH: Going “green”is all hype and just a buzzword. REALITY: The survey found [7 Will invest in oneto three areas a wil generally maintain investmentplans Will invest more in everything |] Will decrease all investment Percentages rounded Graph summarizes all four responsesto the following question: ‘Given the economy, what are your plans for investing in each of the following technolo- gies [Will invest less, Will not change our plans, Will invest more]? 1. Virtualization; 2. Cloud computing; 3. Security; 4. Sys- tems management software, gies that help them go green, which suggests there maystill be some confusion as to what it meansto “go green.” 3. MYTH: Small businesses face very different challenges than large organizations. REALITY: Tech is tech, whether you're small, medium or large. Though the perception is significantly more likely in the large enterprise (44 percent), small organizations (382 percent) also tend to think their IT chal- lenges are greater than those of companies smaller than theirs. for only 44 percent of those orga- In fact, even when you look at top concerns, 60 percent of both small and large organizations agree that security is their No. 1 challenge. This research may help you the also found that nearly all IT professionals will maintain or increase investments in technolo- technology trend or hoax. To learn more, visit www.microsoft.com/ infrastructure. that 84 percent of IT professionals consider green factors when mak- ing datacenter decisions, but this factor plays into the final decision nizations. However, the survey next time you encounterthe latest
