IT – CAUSE AND RECOVERY TOOL IN THE ECONOMIC CRISIS CONTEXT

The present paper aims to identify some of the weaknesses in the IT area that have contributed to the current financial crisis. At the same time, the crisis impact over the IT&C industry is analysed. Some case studies are introduced: credit risk evaluation software applications with low performance are one of the main causes for the collapse in the loan market, while investments in software applications for virtual campuses have the potential to contribute to the recovery as they reduce costs. Therefore, the IT&C is presented from two opposite perspectives: a factor that contributed to the on-going economic turmoil and an important tool in the recovery process. In the economic recovery plan designed by the European Union, an important place is dedicated to the investments in IT&C networks, in the Research & Development area or in the development of the global commerce as companies can make profit from every opportunity that appears on the market. Under these circumstances, the authors design a set of performance metrics that are meant to quantify the efficiency of software applications. The concluion is that the existence of performant information systems with high quality metrics and user-friendly interfaces undoubtly leads to an improvement in the economic pressure factors that characterize the crisis.