As instability continues to ripple through the global economy, it's clear that no one is immune to the effects of tighter credit and slower consumer and business spending.

But while it's impossible to predict how long the current uncertainty will last or what the final impact will be on jobs and growth, I am optimistic about long-term economic prospects, here and around the world.

The trends that have made the last decade so dynamic for businesses in every corner of the globe haven't changed. Technology continues to improve. Productivity continues to rise. New business opportunities continue to emerge.

At the same time, there's no doubt that this is a time when thoughtful business leaders must carefully assess how to best utilize their resources to weather the uncertainty that lies ahead. I believe information technology can play an important role in helping companies respond to this difficult and rapidly changing economic environment.

In the near term, for many organizations the emphasis will be on cutting costs and reducing risk. Today, there are a number of technologies that are helping companies lower expenses and improve effectiveness and efficiency.
One example is virtualization. A technology that makes it possible to run more than one operating system on a single computer, virtualization reduces costs and lowers energy consumption by enabling organizations to use more of the computing power that they already own.
Another example is unified communications technologies that bring voice communications, e-mail, and instant messaging together to allow organizations to replace traditional phone systems with integrated software solutions that reduce hardware and maintenance costs.

Cutting back on travel is an obvious way that companies can save money. Today, video conferencing and new collaboration tools are making virtual meetings much more like face-to-face interaction and enabling people to share and collaborate more effectively. In addition, companies are finding that reducing computer energy usage is one of the most effective ways to lower costs without hampering organizational capabilities.

resulted in significant strategic cost reductions at banks such as First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Intercontinental Bank.

The travel requirements for employees in various locations in the country have reduced due to the availability of enterprise IP based video and voice conferencing. This has also reduced telephone costs in addition to increasing staff productivity.

Cutting costs is an important way to respond to the challenges of the current economic climate. But I believe it's possible to see some of these challenges as opportunities.

Many of the technologies mentioned above are enabling forward-looking companies to build information systems that are not only more cost-effective but that also enable people to understand and respond to changing business conditions with greater insight and speed than ever before.

This focus on people is critical. Ultimately, economic growth depends on innovation. Innovation is built on the ability of people to transform new ideas into products that deliver new value to customers.

The danger is that as the global economy slows, companies will shift so much of their focus to controlling expenses that they will lose sight of the critical importance of investment in innovation. The fact is that in any economy, innovation is the foundation for creating opportunity and success. Companies that continue to pursue innovation position themselves to better weather difficult economic times. And they create the conditions for more rapid growth when the economic climate improves.

Today, there's no doubt that we've entered a period where companies and individuals are facing a new set of economic challenges. But at the same time, we're in the midst of a period when key technology trendsmore powerful devices, new ways of connecting to each other and to information, new ways of interacting with computersare converging in ways that will revolutionize the role that computing plays in our lives at home and at work.

Companies that take advantage of these trends to transform their businesses and deliver new innovations to their customers will have an important competitive advantage, today and in the years ahead.

Emmanuel Onyeje is Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria