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With project budgets shrinking, network professionals are spending less time planning new purchases and more time trying to cut costs and squeeze more value out of existing IT resources.

The recession has companies worldwide scrambling to rein in technology costs with desperate vendors responding in turn, offering deep license discounts, providing low-cost financing and proclaiming ever more shrilly that their products in fact save customers money.

Sharp-eyed and highly caffeinated regulars might have noticed the brand-new employee at the Mercer Island Drive Thru Starbucks in November. The newbie, wearing the standard-issue green apron, was receiving a crash course in just about every function at the 1,800-square-foot store. He took a turn as a barista, manned the drive-thru, handed out samples to customers, took out the trash, and assisted a patron who was trying to connect to the Wi-Fi network. He tinkered with the store's point-of-sale (POS) system. He even did some scheduling.

A worldwide economic recession, volatile energy prices and mistrust of Chinese products are conspiring to end China's reign as the low-cost supplier to the world.

The CIO of a national distributor says the lessons he gleaned from a 2500-year-old Taoist philosopher helped him come up with a low-cost inventory system that worked

Real-time data can prevent distortions in product demand forecasts. But as Network Services' CIO learned, it isn't something that can happen all at once.