HANGING onto your staff and taking an innovative approach to problems is the message from one of Perth’s biggest IT companies on surviving the downturn in the market.
Method + Madness managing director Stephen Langsford described the local IT industry as having a “softer outlook” and said new media companies would have to take a different approach to weathering the weaker climate.
“In these times you need to stick it out and take a bit more innovative approach to problems,” Mr Langsford said.
The comments come a year after the Nasdaq crash, which wiped billions of dollars from the value of technology stocks. The Perth industry is still feeling the effects of the lack of confidence in the sector, with at least one new media company laying off staff.
East Perth’s multimedia firm Pretzel Logic confirmed an adjustment in staffing numbers last week.
“Like all well-run businesses we have taken some steps to reduce costs in our business,” Pretzel Logic managing director Steve Pretzel said.
Factors such as the dot.com meltdown, the change of State Government and the general recession had contributed to a slow growth rate for the industry, he said.
But business would continue as usual for Pretzel, including the company’s move into the London market.
Mr Langsford said the corporate sector was more educated and cautious when it came to IT services compared with this time last year. Corporate clients were now using in-house IT professionals instead of marketing managers or CEOs to purchase web services.
He said the local IT sector still faced turbulent times but believed companies in a strong position now would survive.
“We will see a recovery of these companies that are still strong at the end of the recession,” Mr Langsford said.
